A Champion's Story
by Warenscape The Squishy
Summary: Eric Lombardi, the Pokémon Champion from the U.S.A. has journeyed to Sinnoh to take on the Pokémon Champion. But along the way, he discovers something that will change his life forever... For better or worse. R-and-R!
1. Prologue: How It Began

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Never have, never will.

Author's note: For the sake of this fanfic, we'll just say this takes place during present times since I don't really know any sort of date in the anime timeline. Also don't flame me. Lastly, I am not perfect. I may get one or two of the facts wrong; and if I do, don't make a point of leaving a bad review or PM to that effect.

Rated M for language, alcohol/drug references, violence (wouldn't be Pokemon without it), blood and gore, and a possible lemon in the future.

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and Pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

-- = Scene Breaks

* * *

Prologue: How it began…

Saturday, July 19, 2008; 3:47 P.M.

Nine Months Ago

* * *

"Axel, use Leaf Blade!"

"Gallade, Psycho Cut!"

A heated battle raged on between two trainers. Today was the day of the U.S. Pokemon Championship Final Battle between the champ, Amy Garcia, and the challenger, Eric Lombardi. Two Pokemon launched their attacks, hitting each other simultaneously. "And it's a double hit! Amy's Gallade can't take much more! And it looks like Eric's Sceptile isn't in top form either!" the announcer exclaimed. "And with both trainers down to their last Pokemon, the next hit could very well decide the match!"

"Come on, Axel, hang in there!" Eric yelled to his pokemon. "Now, use Leaf Blade one last time!"

"Gallade, use Dark Pulse!" Amy called.

The Sceptile dashed forward with the leaves on its arms glowing green. While Amy's Gallade weakly put up a green arm, sending a beam of black rings at its opponent.

"Axel!" cried Eric. "Jump it!"

And that's just what Axel did. The Forest Pokemon leapt over the Dark Pulse in the nick of time, shifted its weight to land squarely behind the Blade pokemon. The Gallade turned its head just in time to be met with a devastating blow. The green and white pokemon went flying into the arena wall with a crash, blowing up a cloud of dust and rubble.

"Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark!" the announcer declared. "Could this be it? Is the battle over?"

There was silence in the arena, everyone watching the dust cloud for what could be the end of the match. The powder settled to reveal Amy's Gallade, slumped over against the wall.

The referee held up a green flag in Eric's direction. "Gallade is unable to battle! Eric Lombardi wins!"

The crowd roared! "Unbelievable!! The challenger comes in with only four pokemon and yet he survives all six of the champ's!" the announcer screamed. "This is one for the books, folks!"

Eric stood there on his platform, stunned at what he had just accomplished. "…We won? ... WE WOOOONN!!" Eric yelled. "We did it, Axel! You were awesome!" The Forest pokemon glanced back at its trainer and thrust a green fist into the air.

"Axel, return. Get a good, long rest." The victorious trainer said proudly. "You've definitely earned it."

He took the Sceptile's pokeball off his belt and pointed it at his pokemon. The grass type disappeared in a beam of red light that in turn disappeared into the red and white sphere.

Eric replaced the capsule on his belt and took in the environment around him; cameras flashing, people cheering, and an atmosphere of victory. He then glanced at the fallen Gallade. He was now in its trainer's arms she approached the triumphant challenger.

"That was a great battle. I can't remember the last time I had a battle that was so intense." The former champion praised.

Eric nodded and smiled. "Thanks! It's Amy, right?"

"Yep, that's me! Now come on; you've got a title to receive!"

--About 30 Minutes Later…--

One news crew amongst the many was just now starting their broadcast of the crowning ceremony. "Welcome back to the U.S. Pokemon Championships! We're just now seeing the winner of the tournament taking the stage." The reporter declared to the cameras. "There he is, the man of the hour, Eric Lombardi! He's only 15 and he entered the tournament with only four pokemon. But, against all odds, he managed to survive the onslaught of top battlers until the title battle. And now, well… you folks know the rest."

A veritable army of photographers, reporters, and fans swarmed around the central stage where Eric and Amy stood. A woman approached the stage, surrounded by a group of what appeared to be bodyguards. She looked about 30, with a somewhat slim build, red hair tied up in a ponytail, and a black business suit. When she got up on the stage, she approached the podium.

"Welcome! By now, most of you know what has happened here today. The underdog, Eric Lombardi, entered this tournament after just barely qualifying for one of the 32 spots to compete." Eric sweatdropped. 'Don't remind me. That last qualifying battle was hell. I'm not even sure how I managed to beat that annoying Infernape of his...' He thought. "From there, he fought his way up through the brackets, encountering many challenges. And yet he still was able to make it to the title match against our Champion, Amy Garcia. It was an absolutely stunning performance from the both of you. However, in the end, only one could win. Congratulations, Eric Lombardi! You are the new United States Pokemon Champion!!"

The crowd roared as the former champ took a golden crown from a man standing nearby. It was very simple, a 3-inch wide band of gold, decorated with the U.S. Champion emblem; a pokeball with a blue stripe across the midsection. Amy placed it on Eric's head and stepped back.

"Eric, would you like to come up here and say a few words?" the lady asked.

He nodded and walked up to the podium, being careful not to let the symbol of his victory slip from his brow.

"Thank you. Thank you all. …Hehehehe… to be honest, I never thought I would actually get this far. I always figured that I would go down in the second round or something like that. But here I am! But, of course, I didn't do it alone. Let's face it; you can't win battles without a great team of pokemon. Axel, my Sceptile. Krystal, my Ninetails. Matthias, my Lucario. And Tara, my Eevee. They deserve a lot more credit than I do. They were the ones that got their paws dirty; I just told them what to do. Thank you! All of you!"

The crowd broke into applause as Eric finished his speech.

--A Few Hours Later…--

Eric had left the arena and was now bound for the nearby airport. He fought to stay awake during the taxi ride; it was really late and he wanted to stay awake until he boarded the plane.

"So, you're Eric Lombardi, huh?" the cab driver queried.

"Uhh…yeah. Why?" the exhausted champion replied.

"I was just wondering why you're going to leave the city so soon after your win. I thought you would wait around to answer questions for the media or something like that."

"I don't want to deal with any of that bullshit. Not now."

"So, where you off to?"

"I'm going home."

--Several Hours Later…--

"Welcome to Chicago!" Eric was greeted by a teenage girl and a Glaceon as soon as he left the terminal.

"Uhhh…" She looked about 17, with tanned skin, green eyes, long black hair, and a white labcoat. "Who are you?" Eric asked.

"Oh, right. Hehehe…I'm Sakura and this is my Glaceon, Frost! I'm Professor Aldin's assistant. He sent me here to come and pick you up."

"You know Prof. Aldin?"

"Yeah!"

"…Then how come I don't recognize you?"

"I was hired just four days ago."

"Oh, ok. So if you're here to pick me up, then let's go grab my things and get going!"

"Yes sir! Come on, Frost!"

[Glaaacceon!]

--90 Minutes Later…--

(A/N: I know, I know, these things are everywhere)

Eric let out a relaxed sigh as he and Sakura pulled into the driveway of a large laboratory. 'It's good to be home. I wonder what Prof. Aldin is up to…' he thought.

"Here we are, Eric! Home sweet home." Sakura said.

"It's only been a week, but it feels ages since I was here." Eric said to himself. "Professor! You there?! It's me!" he yelled.

"…" Nothing.

"Hello?!"

"I'M COMING! I'M COMING!" a booming voice came from inside the lab. The door swung open to reveal a man. He was burly, with light skin, chestnut hair and a white lab coat.

"Ahhh! It's you, Eric! It's good to see you again!"the Pokemon Professor jeered. "I saw your match on the T.V. You were amazing! Your parents would've been proud of you."

" I know that. …I miss 'em." He bowed his head in deep thought. And then it snapped right back up. "Oh, well… No sense in moping over things like that."

"Hello, Professor."

"Welcome back, Sakura."

[Glaaa! Glaceon!]

"Hahahahaha! Hello to you, too, Frost!"

"Thanks! Hey, Eric! Why don't you let your pokemon out of their pokeballs. They're probably ready to get out." Sakura suggested.

"Good idea, Sakura."

The newly crowned champion took off his pokeball belt and chucked it into the air.

"Come on out, everyone!"

The four red and white capsules opened, with streams of white light beaming from each. The light took a shape to reveal a Lucario, a Sceptile, an Eevee, and a Ninetails. They glanced around, taking in the change of scenery, though they were quite familiar with it.

"Go on ahead, guys. Go stretch your legs for a while." Eric declared, catching the belt and replacing it on his waist.

His pokemon didn't need to be told twice. They each ran off toward the open field where hordes of other pokemon where going about their business. Axel and Matthias ran out the door, getting caught inside it as they pushed to get out first. Tara ran between their legs, turning around and sticking out her tongue. However, Krystal did not appear so eager to follow. She was a well built Ninetails, with golden eyes and a well rounded personality. But the feature that caught everyone's eye was her coat, instead of the usual golden fur, it was a sleek black. After all, "shiny" pokemon are quite rare. The Fox pokemon tried to get out the door with a heavy limp before collapsing.

"Krystal!" Eric cried as he and the other two humans in the room ran to Krystal's side. "Are you alright?" he asked. [Niiii… Nineee…] the shiny pokemon managed to say. Prof. Aldin picked up her leg, examining it. "Ahh! I see. Her leg is broken," he stated. Eric looked up at the Pokemon Professor; wide-eyed in shock. "That's not good!" "She'll need to get this leg bandaged. Eric, Sakura, help me get her to the exam room." "Right!" Eric and Sakura replied, picking up the Ninetails and carrying her off.

"She probably injured it during the title match the other day…" Eric said. The three humans were now inside the exam room. The walls were lined with machinery, with various buttons and dials and other things that Eric had to restrain himself not to touch. In the center of the room was an examination table, upon which lay the injured Ninetails.

"Yeah! When she battled against Amy's Rhyperior!" The battle played back in his mind; Krystal getting hit with a powerful Rock Wrecker attack. It not only knocked out the Fox pokemon, but it sent her sprawling and she landed hard on her front right leg. "I guess the normal healing session wasn't good enough for an injury THIS bad," the Prof. Aldin added.

"So how long do you think it'll take for her to fully heal?" Sakura quiried.

"I'm not sure exactly how long, but I do know it'll probably be a month or two."

"Damn it!" Eric cursed.

[Eeveee?] A voice came from behind. Eric and co. turned about. "Oh, there you are, Tara." Eric said. The young Eevee leapt up onto the exam table and began to lick Krystal's broken leg, now covered in bandages.

[Are you gonna be ok?] Tara asked in her native language.

[I… sure hope so… I don't want… to stay like this very long,] the Fox pokemon answered. Meanwhile, Eric, Sakura, and Prof. Aldin looked on.

"What do you think they're saying?" Sakura said reaching down to pet Frost, who had followed Tara into the room.

"I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't." Eric replied.

"We should probably give Krystal some time alone," Prof. Aldin suggested. "She needs to rest."

"Yeah, but let's bring her somewhere a little more comfortable. I wouldn't want to be on that table if MY leg was broken." Eric concurred. "C'mon, Tara! Let's bring her upstairs."

--About 5 Minutes Later…--

The group left the spare room on the second floor after placing the shiny Fire type on the bed there.

"I hope she'll be alright…" Sakura said.

"That makes three of us…" Aldin added.

"Ugggghhh… I think I'm gonna hit the hay. It's been weeks since I slept in my own bed." Eric stated.

"Fair enough. Goodnight, Eric." Sakura said.

The teenage champion climbed back up the stairs and into his room. He jumped on the bed and soon fell asleep.

--A Week Later…--

It was around 3:00 on the weekend as Eric sat in front of the T.V., just channel surfing 'Jeez, 3000 channels and nothing worth watching…' he thought. However, that thought was quickly dashed as he flipped to channel 284.

"And we're back with Sinnoh Now!" "Huh? When did we get this channel?" Eric said to no one in particular. "Today, we have a very special guest. She's the Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia! Come on out here, Cynthia!" A woman walked onto the camera. She was tall, with light skin, a long black dress, piercing but calm eyes, and long blonde hair.

"Welcome to Sinnoh Now, Cynthia! We appre…" Eric's mind drowned out the noise from the T.V. as he focused only on Cynthia. 'So you're the Sinnoh League Champion, eh?' he thought. Just looking at her face was like a challenge. He felt the overwhelming urge to just jump onto the set of the show and challenge her right now. 'I think I know what I'm gonna do! After a few months of training, I'll travel to the Sinnoh region and face Cynthia in a battle and win her title!' he decided. The excited teenager shut off the T.V. and went to tell the professor of his plan.

--Meanwhile, in the Sinnoh Region…--

Two Months Later…

"Lopunny! Use Bounce!" A large, brown-furred, rabbit-like pokemon leapt into the air and darted downward fast. In its shadow was a Kirlia, who was too weak to dodge. She got hit. "Great work, Lopunny! Now!" the Lopunny's trainer shouted, producing a pokeball from his backpack. "Pokeball, go!" He chucked it at the downed Emotion pokemon and watched as it was drawn inside in a ray of red light. The red and white capsule dropped to the ground and wiggled a few times before stopping. "You're mine… Kirlia."


	2. Chapter 1: A Fortunate Discovery

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Never have, never will.

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and Pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

-- = Scene Breaks

Chapter 1: A Fortunate Discovery

Sunday, April 12, 2009; 6:23 P.M.

Present Day

[Gaaarrdee… Garrdeeevvv…] A weak, feminine voice sounded faintly through the trees. A fallen figure slowly crawled its way through the forest. [Gaaaa…] It turned its head about, looking for someone, anyone who could save it. [Gaaardeeeevooooir…] it sobbed as it finally collapsed from pain and exhaustion. [Gaaa… Gardeeee…] The figure managed to roll onto its side… and began to call for help. [Garrrdeeevooooirrr…]

--Meanwhile--

"I can't believe that battle was so damn easy!" Eric Lombardi shouted for everyone to hear. Even if there wasn't anyone around to hear him. After all, there aren't many people who pass through Eterna Forest on a regular basis. It was somewhat hard to see on the path because of the setting sun, but he made do. He was recalling the battle he had had earlier with Roark; Axel and Matthias mopped the floor with the gym leader's rock types and earned an easy first badge. "Roark really needs to get his act together," he said to himself.

"It's a shame that I had to leave Krystal behind… she really wanted to come. If she had just listened to me and NOT tried to follow me, I'm sure that she could've come." He bowed his head. "Oh well… she be back with us soon. Right after that leg of hers heals."

[…Garrddeee…]

"Huh?"

[…Gaaardeeeevoooiiir…]

"There it is again…" Eric said, looking over his shoulder.

[Gaaaaa…]

'That voice… it sounds like it's in pain!' Eric's brown eyes scanned the surrounding area, but found nothing.

[Gaaarrdeeee…]

The American Champion turned around. "It sounds like it's coming from over there." He said to no one in particular. Eric slowly approached the source of the unsettling noise, unsure of what it could be, but ready to fight if needed.

[Gaaarr…]

"WHAT THE HELL?!" he screamed. There, in the bushes, was the cause of the sound. A Gardevoir, lying on its back in a pool of what Eric assumed to be its own blood. He ran over to it. "Are you alright?!" he cried. […] "Damn it! It's unconscious!" He put two fingers on its neck. "Well, you still have a pulse… that's always a good thing," he said to the Embrace pokemon. His eyes scanned the bloody body a little further. It was covered in many things; blood, dirt (or at least what he HOPED was dirt), and something white that he took to be pus. Not to mention all the cut, bruises, and Arceus knows what else that covered the Psychic type's form.

He crept down further, constantly checking for broken bones and other injuries that may need to be taken care of. He lifted up the "gown" to check for anything there. "Well, I guess you're a female, then." Eric said to the knocked-out Gardevoir. Indeed, she was. It seemed that her "area" was a source of the bleeding; a constant stream to the stuff flowed freely.

"There's nothing that I can do here. I've got to get you to a Pokemon Center, and fast!" The teenager picked up the dying pokemon in his arms bridal style and ran out of the bushes and down the path. Dark clouds began to gather overhead. Eric felt a raindrop on his forehead, then another, and another. Before long, it was pouring. But it didn't faze him; he couldn't let it. The rain began to wash the filth off of the Embrace Pokemon as he ran.

[…Gaaarrdee…] something said. Eric looked down at the Psychic type. She had her right eye slightly open, looking up at her rescuer. "Don't worry, I gotcha," the American champion said in an attempt to comfort the suffering pokemon. She was only able to moan in response before passing out again.

Eric focused on the wet, muddy path in front of him, trying not to slip or fall. After running for a short time, he saw lights. 'There it is! Eterna City!' he thought. The 15 year-old put on a little more speed as he dashed towards his destination. He began to feel the fatigue building up, but he still kept going. "Gotta… keep… running…" he muttered between pants.

After a while, he finally entered the city and dashed off towards the Pokemon Center. "Finally!" he exclaimed as he darted through the double doors.

"Hello there. How can I help you?" the woman behind the counter said.

"You can't help me! You can help this Gardevoir!"

"What happened to it?"

"I don't know. I found her out in Eterna Forest. She's dying!" the champion explained shortly.

"We'll do what we can. CHANSEY!" she called. Almost immediately, a pink pokemon with an egg-pouch showed up with a cart for the patient. Eric set her down gently on the car and watched her be pushed out of the room. "I… did it…" he managed to pant before collapsing on the floor. "Tired… so… very… tired…" He lay back on the hard tile floor, catching his breath.

--About 15 Minutes Later…--

"Pardon me, sir."

"Huh? What?" Eric said absently.

"Erm, it's about your Gardevoir."

"Oh! " Eric jumped to his feet. "Is she alright? Is she ok?"

The pink-haired nurse smiled. "Yes, she'll be fine. She just needs rest."

The teenage champion breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear."

"Yes. I'm Joy, by the way." She said.

"Oh, my name's Eric."

"I'll be honest, Eric. You could probably use some rest yourself. You look like you just ran through mud two feet deep. "Well… it sure FEELS like it…" Eric replied. "Can I get a room for the night?" "Yes. Follow me." Nurse Joy said.

Eric was led down a long hall. "So, do you know what happened to your Gardevoir, Eric?" the nurse asked. "Ok, first of all: She's technically not mine. I found her. And secondly: No, I don't know what happened." Eric responded. "Oh, she isn't? Well, that's different." The nurse stopped in front of a door. "Here you go," she said, handing the teenager a key. "This is your room for the night." "Ok, thanks." Eric said. Joy began to walk back down the hall. "Wait!" Joy turned back around. "Yes?" "Could you take my pokemon for me? We had a few battles on the way here." "Of course." Eric took off his belt and handed it to her. Joy took it and started back down the hall.

The exhausted trainer opened the door to his room. It was simple; a lamp, a small table, a window, and two bunk beds on either side of the room. He took of his backpack and threw it onto one of the bunks. Then he took off his soaked clothes, save for his boxers, and put them on the window sill to dry. The rain outside began to lighten. Eric collapsed on the bed and promptly fell asleep.

--That Night…--

The room was almost completely dark, except for the little light that shone through the window. There was also the light from different switches, buttons, and dials.

Something stirred slightly.

'Wh- Where… am I…? The pain… it is gone. But… how did I get here? That boy… is… he the one… that brought me here?'

A/N: Well, here ya go. If this sounds cheesy to you, then keep it to yourselves.


	3. Chapter 2: Dew on the Grass

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. Never have, never will.

A/N: I've already got the story written out on paper, so I already know what will happen. However, I am open to ideas. If I like it I will TRY to use it. If you've got any suggestions, I'd prefer that you included them in your review. PM's are ok, but I don't want to have to go through my inbox and respond to them all if I can avoid it

ALSO! I'm going to make one thing clear right now. If you're suggestions have any lemon ideas included, then don't count on it being used. I've already got the lemons planned out on paper and I won't take any lemon ideas unless I really like them.

One more thing… I screwed up with the border lines here so there will some scattered around in the story. IGNORE THEM; THEY ARE MISTAKES!

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and Pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

-- = Scene Breaks

Chapter 2: Dew on the Grass

Monday, April 13, 2009; 10:43 A.M.

The Next Morning…

"Ugghhh… whoever turned the lights on, turn 'em off…" Eric moaned loudly as his head slipped out from under the sheets and his eyes were exposed to the sunlight shining in through the window. The trainer rolled over to block out the light. THUD! "Ow!" Eric cried after landing on the floor. He stood up and stretched a bit before getting dressed. Then he opened his bag, and took a few Oran and Pecha berries to eat. 'Once I'm done eating, I'll go pick up the team and head to the gym,' he thought.

It didn't take long for him to plow through his breakfast. He grabbed his bag off the other bunk and left the room towards the lobby. "Hmmm… I wonder how that Gardevoir is doing… Maybe I'll pay her a visit after my battle…" he muttered as he walked. "Waaaahh!" someone yelled from his left. "Whoa!" he exclaimed after jumping about two feet into the air.

"Oh, it's you Nurse Joy."

"Sorry about that, Eric. You startled me."

"Ditto… hehehe…Ditto…"

"Can I help you with anything?" she asked.

"If I could have my pokemon back…"

"Say no more! Hang on! Let me go get them!" the pink-haired nurse declared, dashing off down the hall and through a large metal door.

"…"

Eric approached the door that Joy had run through. "Big door… Probably where all the pokeballs are stored or something…" he said to no one in particular.

"That's right!" a voice shouted from the other side.

The big door slid open to reveal Nurse Joy, who had Eric's pokeball belt in hand. "Here you go!" "Thank you!" he said, replacing the familiar strip of leather around his waist.

"I take it you're leaving now?" Joy queried.

"Uhh… yeah…why?" he replied.

"I need the key back and… well… I was just curious about where you were going…" she spoke hesitantly.

"Well, I've got a gym battle to win." he said, handing her the key. "I'll probably be back later on for a healing session."

"Well, you better get over there then. Gardenia might not be there if you don't hurry." Joy pointed out. At this, Eric dashed down the hall, through the lobby, and out the double doors without a word.

--10 Minutes Later…--

"Here it is, guys," Eric said. "The Eterna City Gym." Axel, Matthias, and Tara all cheered. "You three ready for a battle?" They cheered again. "Alright, let's go!" The trainer and his three pokemon ran towards the gym, where, Eric hoped, Gardenia would be waiting for them. They entered the building to find an empty room. 'Where is everyone?" the American Champion wondered.

{Perhaps the leader is absent?}

"You might be right, Matthias." Eric replied. "Nurse Joy DID say that Gardenia might not be here." Since Matthias was a Lucario, he could manipulate Aura and by concentrating a small amount of it, he could speak human language. "Hello?! Anybody home?!" Eric called. "…Hellooooo?" {Maybe we should come here later on,} the Aura Pokemon suggested. "Good idea. Come on, let's go." Eric said with disappointment in his voice.

"Hello? Someone there?" someone said.

"Wait… Did you guys hear that?" Eric asked.

"Are you here to see me?" the mystery person asked.

Eric turned around. "Who's 'me'?" he shouted back.

Then the voice became much clearer. "I'm Gardenia, the gym leader here." A figure stepped into the room. She had orange hair, a green top, and orange shorts.

"If you're Gard-"

"Oh, wow!" the woman suddenly cried before dashing over and glomping Axel, knocking the Forest pokemon to the floor in the process. "I just love your Sceptile!" Eric sweatdropped. "Uhhhh… Hello? Remember me? Up here?" he said. "Oh, right… What can I do for ya?" she replied, getting off of her "vicim," blushing slightly. Axel stood up and brushed himself off, glaring at the woman.

"I'm here to get my next badge!" Eric declared.

"So you're a trainer then… Alright, I accept your challenge!" Gardenia exclaimed. "Follow me..." She trailed off.

"It's Eric."

"Ok then, Eric. Come with me," the leader said. "I'll take you to the arena."

--A Few Minutes Later…--

Gardenia led Eric and company to a large, open-roofed arena, where the sun beat down on everything. The battlefield was littered with trees and a few boulders here and there. "Hey, Jason! I need you to referee this battle!" the gym leader called.

"OK!" someone shouted back. A man stepped onto a raised podium with a red flag in one hand and a green flag in the other. "This battle will be a 3-on-3 single battle. No items and no time limit. The battle ends when all three of a battler's pokemon are unable to continue. Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. Are you both ready?" Jason shouted.

"READY!" Eric and Gardenia replied in unison.

"Call out your pokemon!"

"Turtwig, go!" Gardenia exclaimed. The Grass-type starter appeared on her side of the field.

'Hmmm… a Turtwig…Looks like I should go for speed here…' Eric took a pokeball and chucked it. "Tara! Your time to shine!" The Evolution pokemon materialized in front of her trainer. [Veeeeee!] she cried.

"Let the match BEGIN!"

"You may do the honor, Eric." Gardenia said confidently.

"Ya got it!" he replied. "Tara, use Quick Attack!"

The fox-like creature darted forward, being engulfed in a white streak as she did so.

"Turtwig, dodge and counter with Leaf Storm!"

The small, turtle-like pokemon dodged just in the nick of time and created a tornado of leaves around itself.

"Take cover!" Eric ordered. "Don't let that Leaf Storm hit you!" Tara broke from the Quick Attack and ran behind a tree. Gardenia's Turtwig had seen this tactic quite a few times in the past and knew what to do about it. He leaned forward, launching the Leaf Storm attack at the tree where the Eevee was hiding.

[Veeeeeeeee!] she cried out as the grass-type move hit and sliced through the tree. "Tara! Get out of there!" Eric yelled with just a hint of panic in his voice. The Evolution pokemon did as instructed, dodging the falling tree, but getting caught in the edge of Turtwig's Leaf Storm in the process.

[VEEEEEEE!!] she yelped.

"Don't let them recover, Turtwig! Use Razor Leaf!"

Tara's assailant flicked its head, throwing countless razor-sharp leaves in her direction. Tara, still caught in the remnants of the Leaf Storm, was powerless to dodge.

[VEEEEEEEEeee…]

Both of Turtwig's attacks stopped and Tara fell to the ground. She was still.

"Eevee is unable to battle! Turtwig is the winner!" Jason yelled.

"Damn it!" Eric cursed. "That didn't go so well…" He pointed a pokeball at the unconscious pokemon. "Tara, return." he said as the Evolution pokemon vanished into the red and white capsule.

"Worried?" Gardenia asked.

"Not yet, I'm not." the American trained answered, reaching for another pokeball. "Alright! Your turn, Matthias!" he exclaimed as he threw it up. The Aura pokemon materialized in front of him.

"Begin!"

"Ok, Matthias. Get ready!"

"Turtwig, use Bite!" Gardenia ordered. The Tiny Leaf pokemon ran at the Fighting/Steel type with an open maw.

'Bad idea on your part, Gardenia.' Eric thought. "Matthias! Let Turtwig bite your paw!" The Lucario looked back at him with an expression that said "ARE YOU INSANE?!" "Just trust me!"

[Twiiiiig!] Gardenia's pokemon cried as it jumped at its opponent. But before it could bite down on Matthias' arm, the canine-like fighter shoved its left paw into Turtwig's mouth. […TUUURTWIIIIG!] it screamed in pain.

"What the…? What just happened?" Gardenia said, shocked.

"Your Turtwig just bit Matthias' paw and ended up stabbing himself with the spike on Matthias' paw." Eric said back. "Now, if you would be so kind as to use Aura Sphere…"

Matthias put his paws behind him and focused his energy to create a destructive ball. Meanwhile, Turtwig was running around like a headless chicken, with a few drops of blood escaping its mouth every now and then. With a grunt, the Lucario chucked the blue sphere at the Tiny Leaf pokemon. Turtwig only had time to look up before taking it right between the eyes.

"Turtwig! No!" Gardenia cried as her pokemon was blown back towards her. She was forced to jump over Turtwig to avoid getting hit by the living projectile. It stopped just short of the wall. "Turtwig! Are you ok?" It took a few seconds, but the Grass starter managed to get back on its feet.

"Alright, Turtwig. Try Leech Seed!" the orange-haired gym leader called. A small, brown seed appeared between the two leaves on its head. Turtwig pointed it at Matthias and fired.

"Stop that seed!" Eric exclaimed. Matthias nodded and held out a paw. His eyes glowed a light blue. Just as the draining seed was about to hit him, it stopped dead in mid-air, now engulfed in a light blue glow.

"Now, Matthias, use Leech Seed!" The Aura pokemon pulled his paw back in towards his body, and then thrust it back out with massive power. Turtwig's Leech Seed, instead of hitting its intended target, impacted on its source's forehead. The Tiny Leaf pokemon was tangled up in the strength draining vines in a matter of seconds.

"Use Turtwig to make a crater!" Eric shouted.

'Make a crater? What the hell?' Gardenia thought.

The Lucario's eyes glowed light blue again and so did Turtwig. 'He's using Psychic! I didn't know Lucario could learn a move like that!' Turtwig began to rise off the ground. All the while, it was flailing its short legs around feebly. The grass type was about 10 yards off the ground when he dropped. Matthias slammed his opponent down hard. When the dust from the impact settled, Turtwig lay there motionless.

"Turtwig is unable to battle! Lucario is the winner!"

"Alright, Matthias! Nice work!"

{My hand hurts…} was all the Aura pokemon could say.

"Come back over here. Kick back for a bit." Eric suggested.

{Thank you, Master.}

"Well done, Eric." Gardenia praised from across the battlefield as she returned her fallen Turtwig to its pokeball. "You're good, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you win!"

"Cherubi, go!"

The Cherry pokemon emerged from its ball.

'Cherubi is a pure grass type, if memory serves. Hmmm… I already told Matthias to take a break so…' Eric thought

"Your turn, Axel!" he shouted. The fully evolved grass starter materialized on the battlefield in his usual position; head down, eyes shut, and leafy arms crossed.

"Begin!"

"Cherubi! Use Magical Leaf!"

"Axel! Counter with X-Scissor!"

The Forest pokemon dashed forward with his arms in an X position. Meanwhile, Cherubi flung its "second head" around, releasing multicolored leaves in Axel's direction.

"Use the X-Scissor to deflect the Magical Leaf!" Eric ordered. Axel nodded; he had done this kind of thing many times in the past. The Sceptile moved his arms around to block the incoming projectiles. He didn't have to keep it up for very long though; Sceptile are notoriously fast runners and climbers.

He quickly closed the gap between him and the Cherry pokemon.

"Quickly, Cherubi! Dodge that X-Scissor!" But it couldn't; it only had time to glance up at the looming figure before getting hit by Axel's Bug-type attack.

Cherubi was now in a hole one foot deep. "Nice hit, Axel!" Eric praised. The Forest pokemon turned and gave his trainer his interpretation of a "thumbs-up."

Meanwhile, Gardenia stood there. Her expression still calm, but confident. 'It'll take more than that to beat Cherubi.' she thought. And sure enough, there was some slight movement from the hole. The Cherry pokemon quietly hauled itself out of the hole, trying not to draw attention from its opponent.

"Solarbeam!" the Eterna gym leader cried suddenly.

Axel turned back to the hole to find it empty. Before getting blasted by a very powerful Solarbeam from an airborne Cherrubi. But because it was used on a Grass type, it did little damage.

"What the hell?!" Eric exclaimed. "I thought Cherubi was down for the count!"

"But Jason didn't say anything, did he?" Gardenia replied.

"…Axel, Leaf 'Buzzsaw!'" the American champion commanded.

"What?! Leaf 'Buzzsaw?'"

Axel ran towards a tree, leapt into it and waited for a few seconds in the branches. A few seconds that seemed like hours.

"Cherubi, use Solarbeam when you see that Sceptile!" Gardenia warned.

Just as the gym leader finished speaking, a green blur burst from the treetops. Axel began to spin vertically. The leaves on his arms merged into each other to form his (in)famous Leaf Blade. He positioned one arm above his head and the other near his tail. Cherubi heard the whir of the spinning Forest pokemon and fired. But Axel's attack easily sliced through it.

The last thing Cherubi remembered thinking was: '…Oh fuck…'

Axel made contact with the Cherry pokemon , hitting it repeatedly while spinning.

"AH! Cherubi!" Gardenia exclaimed.

It stood for a few seconds more before toppling facefirst to the ground.

"Cherubi is unable to battle! Sceptile is the winner!" Jason declared.

"Great! Way to go, Axel!" Eric congratulated.

"And a great battle it was! But I'm not out yet!" the orange-haired leader declared. "Roserade, let's end this!"

The Bouquet pokemon emerged gracefully from its pokeball.

'Axel is a pure Grass type, but Roserade has a Poison subtype... Keeping Axel in is just asking for trouble… so…'

"Hey Axel! Get back!" he shouted. "I'm sending Matthias back out!"

The Forest pokemon nodded and ran back to his trainer, passing Matthias as he did so.

"So you're putting your Lucario back in? Good decision. But it won't save you!"

"Begin!"

"Roserade, use Solarbeam!" Gardenia cried.

'Again with the Solarbeam… don't you know any OTHER attacks?'

"Matthias! Use Bone Rush!"

A long bone appeared in the Lucario's paws. He dashed forward towards his opponent with the bone held in front of him. Roserade fired the powerful beam in his direction. Even with his senses enhanced by Aura, Matthias didn't react quickly enough and was hit in the torso. He lost his balance and was blasted back by the Solarbeam.

"No! Matthias, are you alright?!" Eric shouted.

The Aura pokemon recovered from the attack, slowly but surely.

'Grass type attacks shouldn't do that much damage to a Steel type,' Eric thought. 'Even Solarbeam shouldn't weaken Matthias THAT much…"

"Now follow up with Magical Leaf!"

The Bouquet pokemon crossed its arms, then swung them in an arc, releasing dozens of multicolored leaves at Matthias.

"Extremespeed! Make 'em dizzy!" Eric ordered in response to Gardenia's choice of moves.

Matthias regained his posture and took off towards his opponent. But then…

Impact! Eric forgot about Magical Leaf's effect; it NEVER misses. The Lucario was hit from the front and back.

"Gahhh!!" Eric exclaimed.

One final hit knocked Matthias onto his back. He lay there, fighting just to remain conscious.

"Mathhias, can you keep going?" Eric shouted.

{Y-yes… I- I think so…} the canine-like creature replied weakly.

'Damn!' Eric thought. 'That Roserade is TOUGH! …I think it's time to change tactics… Maybe a guerrilla approach would work…'

"Matthias! Hide in the trees!"

The Lucario leapt into a nearby tree, then transferred to another.

"Use Aura Sphere when you have a target!" Eric yelled after his pokemon.

"Roserade! Go and follow that Lucario!"

The Bouquet pokemon obeyed, running off after its opponent. It moved silently, but swiftly as it hunted. After a few minutes, Roserade slowed down to a walk as it caught its breath. Meanwhile, Matthias hid on a tree branch concealed by leaves, watching, waiting for his chance to attack. And, as luck would have it, Roserade passed directly under Matthias' hiding place. The Aura pokemon closed his crimson eyes in concentration. A blue "fire" appeared from the spikes on his paws. He held his paws together, and then separated them, generating an Aura Sphere between them.

'Here goes nothing…' the Fighting/Steel type thought.

He dropped from his perch, ready to strike. Roserade, however, heard the rustle of leaves when Matthias dropped and turned about. The Lucario launched the attack as Roserade prepared a Focus Punch. And that's when Roserade learned a very important lesson: never use a Focus Punch to stop an Aura Sphere.

The two Fighting type attacks collided, creating a massive explosion. Roserade was thrown like a ragdoll about 50 feet into the air. The landing took its toll on the Grass/Poison type, rendering it unconscious. Matthias was only deafened for a few seconds though; better than getting blown up.

Eric and Gardenia looked on from their positions at the column of smoke generated by the explosion.

"What happened?! Jason, can you see anything?!" Gardenia called.

"No, I can't! I can't see through the trees!" the ref replied.

Eric began to chuckle. Gardenia glanced at him with a puzzled expression.

"What? What's so funny?" she asked.

"I win." the American champion answered.

"How do you know?"

"Because I heard it from the source!" Eric exclaimed, pointing a finger at a figure emerging from the trees. It was Matthias.

"Roserade is unable to battle! Lucario wins! And the battle goes to the challenger, Eric!" Jason announced.

"Yeah! Nice going, Matthias!" Eric congratulated.

The Lucario approached his trainer with a slight limp, before falling to one knee.

"Don't worry, Matthias. You'll be fine as soon as we get back to the pokemon center. But first…"

Eric recalled Axel and Matthias, and started off towards the slowly fading smoke pillar. Before bumping into the defeated gym leader.

"That was a great battle, Eric! I'm really impressed! I thought I had you for a minute there, but you did really well!" Gardenia declared.

"I know. That's what I do." Eric replied.

"Here," the orange-haired leader said, reaching into her pocket. "You've earned this." She grabbed the teenager's left hand and pressed a small, metallic object into it. The Forest Badge.

"Thanks for the battle, Gardenia. I gotta go now; my team needs healing."

"Ok! See ya!"

Eric strolled out of the gym and towards the Pokemon Center.

'I'll leave Tara, Axel, and Matthias with Joy for a while. I've got somebody to check on…'

A/N: Here's Chapter 2, in all its glory. I hope you people liked it. And for the convenience of the readers, I'm going to put up the character bios on my profile page as reference. They will be of Eric, his team, and some minor characters; I'll also update it every so often to keep with the storyline. Please R&R!


	4. Chapter 3: Welcome to the Team

Disclaimer: If you can read this, I don't own Pokemon. All copyrighted items used and/or mentioned are property of their respective owners. I only own the story itself and the OC's.

I believe that a little bit of deliberation is in order, so I am going to insert superscripted numbers after certain parts that may be confusing to some readers. Their explanations will be listed at the A/N at the end of each chapter.

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and Pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

-- = Scene Breaks

Chapter 3: Welcome to the Team

Monday, April 13, 2009; 12:02 P.M.

"Ok, the pokedex says that my next destination should be Hearthome City. That means I would have to pass through Jubilife City again… I can't wait until somebody invents the personal teleporter." Eric muttered to himself as he walked along. He was busying himself with his pokedex(1), trying to figure out where he should travel to next.

"Says here I also have to go though Mt. Coronet to reach the city… I wonder what kind of pokemon I could find there… Oh, hey! There's the center!" he said as the red-roofed building came into view. Eric broke into a full-on sprint as he headed towards the center. He ran for about a minute before entering the Pokemon Center.

"Hey Nurse Joy! I'm back!" he panted, stopping in front of the desk and leaning on it.

"Huh? Who is it?" a voice said from behind the desk. A door opened and out stepped the pink-haired nurse. "Oh! It's you, Eric." she stated. "… How come you're out of breath?"

"I ran."

"Why did you run?"

"…Because I can." Eric said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Is that a problem? I didn't think so."

"…"

"…"

"…I'm going to assume you came to heal your Pokemon." Joy said, finally breaking the awkward silence.

"And you would be right." the American trainer retorted, handing her his belt with the shrunken capsules still attached. The pokemon nurse took the belt, detached the pokeballs from it, and placed them on a machine behind her.

"It will take some time for your pokemon to finish their healing session." Nurse Joy recited for the umpteenth time. Then she made a face that said "I feel like I'm forgetting something…"

"Also, about that Gardevoir... Mind if I see her?" Eric asked. Joy snapped her fingers.

"Oh! That's right!" she exclaimed loudly, turning the heads of the few people that were in the room. "I completely forgot! Chansey! Watch the front desk for me!" she yelled. "Follow me, Eric."

The pink-haired nurse led Eric through a door and down a hall. Lining the hall was a series of windows. Looking into the windows, he saw many pokemon hooked up to machines.

"Are all of these pokemon being treated or something?" Eric asked.

"Not all of them. Some of them are being treated. Others are being examined or are recovering. Why?" Joy answered.

"It never hurts to ask." Eric said back, mentally identifying the Pokemon he saw in the rooms.

'Monferno… Abra… Hitmonlee… Gardevoir… Pikachu… Wait a sec… Gardevoir!'

"Uhhh… Nurse Joy? I think we just passed her." Eric stated.

"Oh! Hehehe… Oops, sorry…" she replied sheepishly.

Eric heard her mutter something about "her brain not working today."

She walked backwards to the room where the Gardevoir was resting.

"Here she is." Joy said, opening the door. "She's lucky. If you hadn't made it here when you did, she might not have survived."

Eric entered the room. It was lined with many different machines and blinking lights. It reminded him of the examination room back home. Right in front of him was the Gardevoir, sound asleep.

"So how is she?" Eric asked.

"When you brought her in, she was in pretty bad shape. Lots of cuts and bruises, and quite a few of them were infected. A few other injuries, too, but nothing we couldn't heal."

The American trainer breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. I was worried."

Just then, the door swung open to reveal the Chansey from earlier.

[Cha chans! Chansey!] it cried.

"Oh no… Eric, I've got to go. Something just came up." Joy spoke.

"No problem! I'll be okay." He replied.

The pink-haired nurse nodded then ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Eric took a seat on a stool next to the sleeping pokemon. He put his right hand in hers. Her grip tightened slightly. The Gardevoir's crimson eyes slowly began to open. She glanced around at her new surroundings; white walls, flashing lights, and a familiar human at her bedside.

"Oh, you're awake." Eric said.

(Who…who are you? Where… am I?) a strange, but feminine voice sounded from within Eric's heart.

"Huh? Wh-who's there? Who said that?!" the teenage champion exclaimed, frantically scanning the room.

(Are… are you… the one that saved me?) the voice said.

Then it clicked in Eric's head. 'Duh, Eric! It's Gardevoir! She must be using telepathy.' he thought, turning his attention back to the Gardevoir.

"Yes. I am."

She sat up and put her legs over the side of the bed, her "gown" following closely behind.

(Thank you for saving me… I was in so much pain… I thought I was going to die there in that wretched forest…) she said with every drop of malice that she could muster.

Eric rubbed the back of his head, blushing slightly.

"Hehehehehe… it was nothing…"

(Where am I?)

"You're at the Eterna City Pokemon Center. I brought you here." he replied.

(And who are you? What is your name?) she inquired.

"My name is Eric," he answered again.

The trainer glanced at his watch. "I should probably go and pick up my other pokemon now. Nurse Joy should be done with them by now." He got up and started toward the door.

(WAIT! PLEASE!) she cried.

Eric turned about to face the source of the outburst.

(Please don't go… Please don't leave me here… I'm scared…)

"…"

(…If you leave me here… There's no telling what he'll do!) The Gardevoir broke down into tears, cupping her face in her green hands.

"'He?' Who's 'he?'"

(Please… just… take me with you…) the Embrace Pokemon sobbed.

'Who is "he?"… I wonder who she's talking about…' Eric thought. 'She says she doesn't want me to leave her here…' He took an unoccupied pokeball from a pouch on his backpack. 'The least I can do is catch her and let her come along… Besides, I've been looking for a Psychic type… She needs me and I need her. Win-win.'

Eric approached the crying Gardevoir and sat on the bed next to her, dropping the pokeball on the edge of it. He put his left arm over her shoulder and his right on her leg. He pulled her in close in an effort to comfort the distressing Pokemon.

"I'll tell you what: How would you like to join my team?"

She glanced up at her rescuer, her tear-filled, crimson eyes sparkling with happiness. She leaned on Eric and hugged him.

(Yes! I would love to!) she cried joyfully.

"Glad to hear it. Do you have a name?" Eric asked. She shook her head.

"Ok. How about…" he trailed off, trying to think of a good name. After a few minutes, he had an idea.

"How does 'Ivana' sound?"

(I love it! Thank you so much, Eric!) Ivana exclaimed, leaping from the bed and glomping the teenager.

"It's settled then; your new name is Ivana." Eric said. He picked up the pokeball off the bed and held it out to her. "This is your pokeball. Open it, and you will have joined me." He set it down on the bed.

She paused for a few seconds, staring at the red and white capsule. She wore a troubled expression as she did so.

"You don't like these things, do you Ivana?" Eric queried, remembering to use her name.

"No, I don't."

"Then I won't keep you in it, if I can avoid it."

Ivana nodded at her new trainer and touched the pokeball. A red beam of light emitted from it that engulfed the overjoyed Pokemon. The beam reentered the capsule and it closed. The pokeball gave a few shakes, and then stopped. Eric picked it up off the bed.

"Welcome to the team, Ivana."

Explanations

1. Eric's pokedex is different from the ones that you normally see in the anime. It's custom-made by Prof. Aldin. It's shaped like an iPod Touch (2nd gen. to be exact), black and shiny. It also is operated by a touch screen and a small keyboard that slides out from the bottom (think messaging phone). It is programmed with data about all 493 Pokemon, including legendaries. In addition, it has a map/GPS function. Prof. Aldin updates the Pokemon data remotely from his lab.

A/N: So she joined Eric on his journey… What'd you expect? I know this is short compared to the others, but it seemed fitting to end it here. Ivana's bio has been added to the list of Eric's pokemon.


	5. Chapter 4: On the road again

Disclaimer: If you can read this, I don't own Pokemon. All copyrighted items used and/or mentioned are property of their respective owners. I only own the story itself and the OC's.

Just so you people know, my submissions may become less frequent due to the fact that my computer had "THE BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH." But don't worry, I'm not dropping this story.

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and Pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

-- = Scene Breaks

Chapter 4: On the road again…

Monday, April 13, 2009, 1:30 P.M.

The teenage champion left the room and started down towards the lobby. As he walked, his mind was set on what Ivana had told him earlier. '"If you leave me here, there's no telling what he'll do" … What did she mean by "he"? Maybe it's a pokemon that decided to attack her… I probably shouldn't ask her about it yet; it'd depress the hell out of her.' he thought, staring at his feet. He entered the lobby where Nurse Joy was standing, and smiling like always.

"Oh, there you are, Eric. You certainly took your time." she said, handing him his belt back. "Here, your pokemon are fully rested and ready to go."

Eric took it from the pink-haired nurse and put it around his waist.

"By the way…" Joy spoke, "how was she? Were you able to interact with her at all?"

"Uhhh… yeah. Yeah I was. Why do you ask?"

"Because whenever I, Chansey, or one of my colleagues entered her room, she would shy away from me. She ignored me almost completely, and when she WASN'T ignoring me, she completely refused to cooperate with me. We had to force her to eat and take her medicine. She even tried to attack us once and we had to put her under."

"Jeez… Any idea why she did that?" Eric asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea. But then, you say that you WERE able to interact with her… how?"

"Well, when I went in, she was asleep," the trainer began. "I sat down next to her and put my hand on hers. When I did, she woke up. Then, she asked me who I was and where she was."

"Wait! She can talk?!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.

"Yeah… well, sort of. She was using telepathy to speak." Joy settled down and mouthed the words "Oh yeah." Anyways, she asked me if I was the one that saved her. I said yes. She asked my name and I told her. Then, I was about to come in here to pick up the others when she broke into tears and begged me not to leave her there."

"So is she still there?" the nurse cut in.

"Nope," Eric responded, releasing Ivana from her pokeball. "She's right here."

"Oh, ok…" Joy watched the psychic type carefully, to make sure that she wouldn't be caught off-guard by any attacks. Ivana had her back to the nurse, but she almost seemed to be struggling not to look at her. "So then she's yours now, huh?"

"Yep! She's the newest edition to my winning team!" the American champion declared, getting a little carried away. "With her at my side, we'll dominate every battle!"

The pink-haired nurse chuckled at Eric's "outburst."

"I'm sure you will."

Eric took a quick glance at his watch.

'1:45… we should probably get going; I want to at least get to Floaroma Town by tomorrow.'

"Well, Nurse Joy, I think it's time for us to hit the road."

"Ok! You take care!"

"See ya!"

--Later, On Route 205…--

(You say that you found me in Eterna Forest, right?)

"Yep. Ya know, I gotta say. You're lucky that I heard you. Hell, I'm surprised that I even heard such a faint noise."

Eric and Ivana had struck up a conversation in their boredom. Unfortunately, they drifted onto a risky topic: how he found Ivana. Eric had to be very careful about what he said to avoid upsetting the Embrace pokemon.

(Earlier this morning, I couldn't sense your presence. Where did you go?) the Gardevoir asked.

"I was at the local gym, getting my second Sinnoh League badge." the trainer replied.

Ivana didn't respond.

"Hello?" he waved his left hand in front of her face. "Hellllooooo? Ivana?"

She stopped walking.

"Ivana, what's wrong?" Eric questioned. "Ivana?"

She suddenly lashed out at her trainer. (NO!)

"Whoa!" he yelled in surprise, dodging the Gardevoir's attack. "Hey! What're you doing?!"

(GET AWAY FROM ME!!!) she screamed(1). (DON'T TOUCH ME!!!!!) Her crimson eyes glowed blue as she let loose a shockwave of psychic energy.

"GAAAH!" the trainer exclaimed as he was knocked back by Ivana's sudden act of violence. He landed against a tree, hard. "Owwww… that hurt… a lot…" he groaned. "Hey!! What the fuck was that for?!"

(Oh no! I'm so sorry! I… I didn't mean to do that!) she cried, rushing over to her trainer.

"Then why did you? Why did you attack at all?!" he yelled.

(I… I couldn't control myself, Eric.) she replied fearfully.

"Again, why is that?"

(…) Ivana bowed her head in disgrace.

"Ivana, if there's something you need to tell me, then I suggest you do it now," the American champion stated, clearly not happy with the new "recruit." "What's wrong?"

(I don't want to talk about it…)

"Come on, Ivana. You'll have to tell me sooner or later. And even if you don't, I'll probably find out for myself eventually."

(…I can't… If I do… HE will find out and… and…)

Ivana fell to her knees, as tears began to flow from her eyes.

'There she goes again… I know you're ' Eric thought. 'Who is "he?" And why is she so afraid of him?'

Eric approached the pokemon. "Ivana, I-"

(DON'T HURT ME!!)

"I never said I would," he said calmly, reaching out to the fearful Psychic type. She cringed at his touch. "Ivana, I'm not gonna hurt you. Why would I?"

(Because I'm a worthless monster!)

"Worthless? No. Monster? Hell no. You're neither of those things." Ivana didn't answer. "You have great potential, Ivana. All you need is the proper training and the right trainer: me."

The Gardevoir looked up at Eric with tear-filled eyes. (…You… really mean that?)

"Of course!" the teenager declared. "All pokemon have potential. For some, it comes naturally. For others, their true abilities need to be unlocked or developed."

(But I-)

"Don't say it, Ivana." Eric interrupted. "You're no monster."

(…I…I…I…I don't know what to say…) she stuttered.

"You don't need to say anything, Ivana," he said, helping her up. "Now come on, let's get moving."

She nodded and followed her new trainer. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the day.

--Eterna Forest; 7:17 P.M.--

Eric and Ivana had since entered Eterna Forest one again, about four hours ago. The pair came upon a clearing with a small stream running right through it(2). "I think we'll stop here for the night. I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired."

Eric set his backpack down next to a stump and turned to Ivana.

"Ok, Ivana. I'm gonna go and get some firewood," he said. "I'm going to let the others out of their Pokeballs for some air. Try not to cause trouble; I'll be back in a little while."

(Alright.)

The American champion released Matthias, Axel, and Tara from their Pokeballs.

"Alright, you guys. We have a new addition to our team," he said to the other Pokemon while pointing to Ivana. "Her name is Ivana. You guys get acquainted, I'll be back soon."

And with that he disappeared into the trees.

--About 10 minutes later…--

'Just a little more and I can head back.' Eric thought as he searched through the forest for loose sticks and leaves. Just then, his foot hit something. "Hmmm?"

He put down his pile of sticks, knelt, and picked up the object. An object that just about anyone would recognize.

It was a pistol. It was mostly chrome, with a black grip.

"A gun?" he said to himself. "Who in their right minds leaves something like this just lying around? Hmmm… I'm not gun expert, but I think this is a Desert Eagle. Neat."

He checked the clip. "Looks like it has a few shots left in it, too. Nine of 'em." Eric mumbled. "I think I'll keep this; I might need it later."

Eric made sure that the safety was turned on and then placed it in his back pocket, hiding it with his shirt so that the Pokemon wouldn't see it.

"Ok… I think that's enough firewood. Time to head back."

--Rewind(3)--

"-You guys get acquainted, I'll be back soon." Eric said before disappearing into the forest.

There was silence. Ivana looked nervously at the unfamiliar Pokemon before her. Especially Axel, who kept glaring at her.

[You do not need to worry about him.]

Matthias stepped forward. [He does that to almost everyone.]

[Who are you?] Ivana asked.

[Oh, sorry. My name is Matthias.] he answered, bowing politely to the Gardevoir. [The one glaring at you is Axel. Learn to ignore him and he will stop. And this is-]

[HiI'mTaraWhoareyouIdon''syourname?!] Tara spurted in one breath.

[…What did she just say?] asked a thoroughly confused Ivana.

[Her name is Tara. She asked for your name, but I could not understand the rest…]

[Well, Tara, my name is… Ivana.] She paused for a moment, trying to remember her new name. The little fox-like creature began running in circles around the Psychic type.

[Why is she doing that?]

[That is her way of saying she likes you.] Matthias answered. [She does that to us all. Especially Eric and Krystal(4).]

[…Ok… Who's Krystal?]

"Hey, guys! I'm back!"

All the pokemon in the clearing looked to see Eric emerging from the brush.

[Speak of the devil…] Matthias muttered. Then he turned back to Ivana. [I will tell you later.]

"Let me get a fire going. Then we'll eat." Eric said. He set down the armful of firewood he was carrying, grabbed his backpack and, started searching for the flint rocks that he picked up earlier. But while he did so, he managed to slip his newly found handgun into the bag without the others noticing.

"AHA! There you are!" he exclaimed when he found them. He started brushing them together in an attempt to make sparks appear. On the fifth try, he got the fire started.

"There we go," he muttered before turning around. "Who's hungry?"

His response came in a group of simultaneous cries from the pokemon. Eric produced a few food bowls from his backpack and filled them up with pokemon food. Tara came up and started eating hers as Eric poured it. Axel and Matthias took theirs to consume on elsewhere. Ivana was sitting against a tree trunk. She was almost perfectly still, the only movement being when she blinked.

"…Ivana? Aren't you hungry?"

The Embrace pokemon was silent.

'Not again…' "Ivaaaannaaaaa?"

(Wh-what?)

"Ivana, I-"

(Oh! Sorry!) Ivana shouted, grabbing her meal from her trainer.

"Uhhhh…"

(Don't worry about me! I'm just fine!) she lied, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

'If that's not a lie, I don't know what is… Oh well… Maybe I should start putting up the tent while I still have daylight.'

Eric grabbed his tent from his backpack and began to put it up.

--30 Minutes Later…--

"There we go… Finally done…" Eric said with a sigh. 'Why do these things have to be so fucking complicated?'

He grabbed a few berries out of his backpack and started eating them. 'Hmmmm… If Ivana's going to be a part of the team, then I should probably see what her stats, abilities, and moves are…" he thought.

The American trainer reached into his backpack and grabbed his pokedex. He pointed it at the Embrace pokemon and scanned her. After a few seconds, it beeped and showed the results.

Gardevoir

No. 282

Embrace pokemon

Abilities:

Teleportation(5)

Synchronize

Known Moves:

Psychic

Thunderbolt

Shadow Ball

Focus Blast

'Whoa… That's pretty damn impressive… Hey, wait… Thunderbolt? Shadow Ball? Focus Blast? A Gardevoir can't learn those moves normally; only from MTP's(6)! But on the bright side, I don't need to modify her moveset.'

Eric put away the device and thought hard about this. 'So she couldn't have been a wild pokemon; otherwise she wouldn't know those kinds moves. She must've belonged to someone… Maybe her old trainer released her? Or did she belong to someone already when I rescued her? No… that can't be it… I couldn't have captured her if that were true… So then what DID happen…?'

He glanced over at the pokemon in question. Ivana was sitting against that same tree, her face looked like that of a five year-old kid after seeing a really good(7) horror flick. She kept looking every which way, as though she was searching for something. Her slender green arms were kept close to her head. And her entire body was shaking.

Eric shook his head. 'Arceus… just look at her. She's definitely scared of SOMETHING… Is it "him?" Is "he" the reason why she's so scared? That's it. I need to talk to her now. It can't wait any longer.'

Ivana speaks through telepathy, but even so, she can still change her tone-of-voice.

I don't think there are any rivers in Eterna Forest, just go with it.

Back to when Eric goes for firewood.

Read the profiles.

We're just gonna say that teleportation is one of her natural abilities.

MTP stands for Move Teaching Program (a.k.a TM/HM)

"Good" as in really f***ing scary

A/N: …


	6. Chapter 5: She Speaks

Disclaimer: If you can read this, I don't own Pokemon. All copyrighted items used and/or mentioned are property of their respective owners. I only own the story itself and the OC's.

Occasionally, I'll upload a rather short chapter. This is usually when important info comes up, so you might want to pay attention…

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and Pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

-- = Scene Breaks

Chapter 5: She Speaks

Monday, April 13, 2009, 7:23 P.M.

Eric breathed deeply, trying to calm himself before talking to Ivana. He knew that being calm helps to make others calm. She still hadn't moved from that tree; Eric actually thought she was dead at one point. 'Here goes nothing…' he thought as he got up and approached the Embrace pokemon.

"Ivana?"

The Psychic type glanced up at her trainer. (…Yes?)

"Nothing. I just… wanted to talk to you."

The Gardevoir turned away from Eric, trying to hide her face.

"Ivana, you need to-"

(Bad memories…) she cut him off.

"What?"

(I don't want to think about it… It's too painful…)

"Ivana," Eric said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm your ally. You help me, I help you. But I can't do that if I don't know what's happening."

(…But I-I-I… I can't!)

"Why?"

(…)

"Why not?!" Eric suddenly shouted as his impatience took over. "Why can't you tell me?"

(…Because if I do…)

"Let me guess: 'He'll' find out?"

Ivana nodded. (No matter what I do, no matter where I go, he always knows… He probably knows that I'm with you right now!)

"If you tell me though, I'll be able to protect you."

(…)

'Yes! … I think she's giving up!' Eric thought.

The Embrace pokemon sidled up close to her trainer, being careful about the red horns on the front and back of her torso.

(…Do you promise?)

"What?"

(…Do you promise to not abandon me? Even though you'll probably hate me for it? ...)

Eric paused for a moment, thinking about what his pokemon had just told him. Then he nodded.

"Of course."

Ivana let out a deep sigh.

(His name… is Miles… He used to be my trainer…)

'So THAT'S why…'

(He caught me when I was a Kirlia, not that long ago… When he first caught me, we were great friends. We won many battles. I was also great friends with his other pokemon… I remember them being a Lopunny and a Mawile. He had an Ursaring, too, but he hated us. Everything was great, until one day…) Eric raised an eyebrow. 'I didn't see THAT coming…'

Ivana paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing.

(Then one day… Miles just left us. Lopunny, Mawile, and I followed him until he reached an alley. There was a man in a black hooded cloak there.)

Eric's eyes widened momentarily, but he quickly resumed his normal expression.

(They talked for a while until the man in black said something that made Miles angry. He attacked the man, but got knocked out. Before the man left, he poked Miles' arm with something long and shiny… When he woke up, he had changed. He was violent and hateful. And he had strange-looking yellow eyes. Whenever we did something wrong, he would beat us… Sometimes he would just beat us for pleasure. Mawile tried to run many times, but Miles always found her and punished her …)

As she spoke, tears began to flow from her eyes.

(I don't know exactly what he did to her. But every time it happened, she avoided us more and more... Up to the point where she would attack us if we even looked her way… Sometimes, when he got really mad, he would get Ursaring to attack us… )

She stopped, and started wiping away the tears. (…I- I'm sorry… I've said too much already…)

"Well, at least now I know what's going on… not to mention his name," Eric said, standing up and stretching. "I'm glad you were able to tell me this."

(…I…I am too…)

The American trainer turned around and put out a hand to help Ivana up. She grabbed it.

"Agggrh!" he grunted upon touching her green flesh.

(Eric? What's wrong?) the concerned Psychic type queried.

"I feel… lightheaded for some reason…" the trainer answered as he struggled to keep his balance.

'Why this random dizzy spell? … I feel strange… And it's not just the dizziness… I almost feel like… like something inside me just flipped the "On switch."'

Then, as quickly as it began, the dizziness stopped. And yet the strange sensation remained.

"…Whoa… that was weird…" the American champion said as his balance returned.

(Are you alright?)

"Y-yeah, I think so…"

(What happened?)

"I have no idea… Oh, well! It's probably just nothing!" Eric declared loudly.

Ivana chuckled softly at her trainer's enthusiasm.

"I think I'm gonna go screw around with my pokedex for a bit…" he said, grabbing the device from his backpack, powering it on, and sitting down against a tree. Ivana lay down next to him, using Eric's legs as a pillow, and promptly dozed off… He glanced down at her, grinning.

--Meanwhile--

Unbeknownst to Eric and company, three beings watched from above. Even if Eric decided to look in their direction, they wouldn't be seen.(1)

"His power been awakened… Finally…" the first said in a young, feminine voice.

"Excellent. We will have need of him soon…" stated another in a deep, booming voice

"Shall I make myself known to him, Master?" said the third in a more mature, womanly tone.

"Not yet. His powers are still not fully developed," replied the second being.

"We cannot afford to wait much longer, my Liege. The forces of darkness are growing ever stronger and every moment we waste will only serve to complicate the situation."

"…"

"I agree, my Lord," the first being chipped in. "We will need his abilities if we plan to survive."

"…Very well…" decided the second being, turning to the first. "You will appear to him tomorrow, at midnight. You shall tell him of his role."

"It will be done, Liege…" said the first being before flying away.

The second being then turned to the third. "As for you, I need you to continue to observe the Dark One's activity. We can't be too cautious."

"As you wish, my Lord…" she answered respectfully as she too flew away.

The second being remained a moment longer, watching the American trainer from the sky.

"You may very well be the world's only hope… Eric Lombardi…"

1. Think about how Latios and Latias can become invisible at will. That's what these three are doing.

A/N: So let's recap: Ivana finally explained (half of) what was going on. Eric had a random(?) dizzy spell. And, apparently, Eric has three "Beings" watching him. As for who those Beings are, well… I'll leave that up to your imaginations…


	7. Chapter 6: What a Jerk

Disclaimer: If you can read this, I don't own Pokemon. All copyrighted items used and/or mentioned are property of their respective owners. I only own the story itself and the OC's.

For those of you that were hoping for answers to your questions from last chapter, you won't find them here. Things you WILL find here are an appearance by a character from the anime and Ivana's first battle under Eric's command.

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

-- = Scene Breaks

Chapter 6: What a Jerk…

Tuesday, April 14, 2009; 11:12 A.M.

"Hey, I think I see Jubilife City's skyline!" Eric exclaimed.

(How do you- Oh, there it is…)

Eric and co. woke relatively early in order to get out of the forest quickly. Eric didn't want to stay there for very long; he always had the feeling that he was being watched.

"Come on. Let's get out of this forest already. It's creepy." Eric said in a very low tone of voice.

{Master, why does this forest scare you?} Matthias asked.

"For the record, there's a difference between fear and uneasiness," the trainer answered. "…I don't know why, but I feel like I'm being watched by someone… or something…"

{But I don't sense anything.} the Aura pokemon pointed out.

(Neither can I, Eric,) Ivana added. (Are you sure about that?)

"Yeah… let's just get out of here. The sooner, the better."

And with that, Eric started running. "Come on, you two! Pick up the pace!"

The Gardevoir and Lucario followed suit, though Ivana had some difficulty keeping up with her more agile teammate.

(Hey! Wait for me!) She shouted after them.

--Two Hours Later--

"Finally, we're out of there…" Eric panted. He, Ivana, and Matthias had been running for hours. Although after a while, they started to slow down. Matthias was put back into his Pokeball at his request; he didn't say why, but Eric didn't feel like arguing.

"From here, we have to pass through Floaroma Town and then head south towards Jubilife," Eric said to himself. "I think we can catch a bus from there and save some time."

(Eric! Look!) Ivana cried out of the blue.

"What? Where?"

Ivana got behind her trainer and pointed out to the east. (There!)

"Ivana, are you sure that you saw someth- WHOA!" the trainer exclaimed.

A pillar of electricity erupted from where Ivana was pointing.

(That's it!)

"Come on! Let's go check it out!" Eric declared, grabbing the Gardevoir's hand and pulling her along.

--A Few Minutes Later…--

"I think I hear voices." Eric pointed out.

(So do I…)

Eric and Ivana approached the source of their interest. Eric treaded lightly, unsure about whether or not they were friendly, but not wanting to find out the hard way. They found some bushes, just inches from a small, grassy clearing, and hid behind them.

"Use Thunder!"

A powerful streak of electricity shot across the clearing, and impacting on something. Eric peered through the brush to see a badly hurt Chimchar, an Elekid, and a purple-haired boy in a blue jacket and black pants.

"Now use Flamethrower, Chimchar!" the boy ordered.

The Fire type began to gather flames for the attack, but all that came out was a flame that belonged on a candle.

"That was pathetic. I've seen your power, Chimchar. And I will find it again." He raised a finger at the Chimp pokemon. "Now Elekid, use Thunder again!" the boy ordered.

The "plugs" on top of the Electric type's head began to crackle with energy.

"Chimchar, stand and take it!" the small monkey-like creature looked on in fear. Meanwhile, from the bushes, Eric just couldn't bear to watch anymore.

"Ivana, stop that attack with Psychic." he whispered. The Gardevoir closed her eyes and concentrated. As soon as the Elekid fired its attack, she grabbed it. The bolt of electricity stopped dead in its tracks, suspended in midair.

"What the hell?" the boy exclaimed. "Elekid! I told you to attack! Why aren't you attacking?!"

It turned around and tried to explain to its trainer.

"Now get rid of it, Ivana." Eric whispered again. She shifted the bolt so that it would impact harmlessly on the ground and then released her grip on it.

Now the boy was REALLY pissed. He started shouting. "Who's there!?! STOP HIDING!!!!"

"Jeez… this guy is a real piece of work…" Eric muttered. Apparently, he said it a little too loudly.

"Hey you!" he yelled. "Get your ass out here!"

'Well…There's no point in hiding if he knows we're here…' the American trainer thought.

"Alright, ya got me." Eric said, stepping out of the bushes with Ivana close behind.

"Who are you? You have no right to keep me from training my pokemon!" the kid scolded.

"Who, me? Oh, I'm nobody special," the American trainer lied. "But I have to say, your so-called "training methods" are, well… a bit harsh…"

"So?" the boy scoffed. "I have my ways of getting the most out of my pokemon."

Eric crossed his arms. "So your idea of training is having your pokemon use that Chimchar as target practice?"

"It's called Blaze."

"Blaze? You mean Chimchar's ability?"

"I've seen what it does and I intend to exploit it."

"So you're just going to keep attacking Chimchar until it finally collapses? Is that it?"

The boy said nothing to this.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

"Look, if you're just going to stand there and talk about shit all day, then battle me."

"You want to battle?" Eric's expression became one of confidence. "I think I've already won."

The kid recalled his Elekid and Chimchar and stepped back.

"What's your name, kid?" Eric asked.

"…It's Paul."

"Alright," the teenager answered as he moved to the other side of the clearing. "We'll make this a 2-on-2 battle. No items, no time limit."

Paul nodded and produced another pokeball from his belt. "Weavile! Stand by for battle!" he exclaimed as he threw the capsule.

The Sharp Claw pokemon appeared on the field with a few slashes of its claws.

'Show-off… Weavile is a Dark/Ice type…'

"Alright, Matthias!" Eric yelled throwing the Aura pokemon's ball. "Let's show this guy what we're made of!"

The blue and black creature materialized silently, eyeing his opponent carefully.

"You may do the honors, Paul. Not that it matters…" Eric stated.

"Use Ice Shard!"

Paul's pokemon formed a glowing ball of ice, which then spit forth a volley of icicles.

"Dodge and use Aura Sphere: Shotgun style!" Eric commanded.

The Lucario leapt over the attack, quickly creating an Aura Sphere. He shifted his weight so that he would land right behind the Ice/Dark type. The Fighting type attack was launched. And when it was, it immediately broke off into many other, smaller Aura Spheres. Weavile was devastated.

[WEEAAVIIILE…] it cried as it took the attack right in the back of the head. When the smoke cleared, it was down. One-hit KO.

"Really, Paul? Is that the best you can do?" Eric chuckled, getting a little full of himself. "I honestly expected more from you."

The purple-haired boy wasn't listening. He returned Weavile to its pokeball.

"You useless piece of crap," he said to the red and white capsule before reaching for another one.

"Ursaring! Stand by for battle!" he yelled. The Hibernator pokemon emerged from its ball with a loud roar.

'Ursaring… It's a Normal type, so it shouldn't be THAT big a problem… I think it's time for Ivana to get a little combat practice…'

"It's your turn, Ivana! Get in there!" Eric commanded.

The Embrace pokemon teleported to a spot right next to Matthias. (It's my turn now…)

He only nodded at her and walked off the field.

'Hmmm… Since Ursaring is a Normal type, Focus Blast is probably my best weapon here… Wait… What's wrong with her?' Eric thought.

Ivana stood in the shadow of her much larger opponent. She was trembling.

"This should be easy, Ivana! Just give it your all and we'll win!" the American trainer shouted in an effort to raise the Gardevoir's spirits.

"Ursaring, Focus Blast!"

A red, pulsating orb of energy formed between the bear-like creature's paws and was launched in seconds.

"Ivana, dodge it!" the teenager exclaimed.

But she didn't. She stood there, paralyzed by fear. The Focus Blast connected with its target, throwing Ivana to the ground, hard.

(Owww…)

"Ivana! What are you doing?!" Eric shouted, annoyed that she didn't listen to him. "Do you WANT to get hit?!"

(…I...)

"I know you're nervous, but you've got to pull yourself together!"

Ivana paused for a moment, thinking about what her trainer had just said to her. While Paul took advantage of their inactivity.

"Use Hammer Arm!" he called.

Ursaring's furry arms turned white as it raised them over its head. As soon as it was close enough, it slammed them down hard on… nothing?

"What?!" the purple-haired boy exclaimed.

'That's more like it…' Eric thought. 'She must've teleported away at the last second…'

(I- I'm ready to fight…) Ivana said in a somewhat shaky voice. The Gardevoir reappeared about 5 feet from her trainer.

"There you are. Alright, now it's OUR turn! Ivana use Thunderbolt!"

She held her green hands close to the red horn on her chest, causing her body to crackle with electricity.

"Ursaring, hit that bitch with another Hammer Arm! And don't miss this time!"

It rushed the Embrace pokemon, just as Ivana loosed the Thunderbolt. It only seemed to stop the stampeding creature, though.

'Damn!' Paul thought. 'It's paralyzed!'

"Now hit that Ursaring with Focus Blast!" Eric ordered.

She engaged in the same routine that Ursaring did and fired. The Focus Blast hit right between the eyes and immediately floored the bear-like pokemon. It tried to get up, but couldn't stay conscious long enough.

"And that's it." Eric said triumphantly. "I win."

Paul recalled Ursaring without a word, and just walked away.

Eric took a quick glance over at Ivana as soon as Paul was out of sight.

"Ivana, I know you're still new on my team, but you still need to listen to what I tell you," the American trainer pointed out. "That could have very easily gone badly."

(…)

"Ivana?"

'Grrrrrr… this is starting to get on my nerves…'

"Hey! Ivana!" Eric yelled, the irritation clearly evident in his voice.

(Just stop…) she finally replied.

"Just stop what?"

(You don't need to worry about me…)

Eric shook his head. "Actually, yes. Yes I do."

(…)

Eric approached the Embrace pokemon and turned her around to face him. "Alright, that's enough. Spill it. There's something you're not telling me."

Ivana stared into her trainer's deep brown eyes. (I shouldn't… I don't want to put you in danger…)

The trainer put on an amused grin. "And how exactly would that work?"

(Miles would find out… I know he would… He always has…)

"Ivana, you NEED to tell me everything!"

(…But… I-I-I want to keep you safe…)

"…Ok… fine," Eric said with a deep sigh and a facepalm. "Don't tell me," he leaned in close his face inches from hers. "But you'll have to sooner or later…"

(…) Eric's last words didn't even register with her.

'…I think she gets the idea… Wait a sec… Is she blushing?'

Indeed she was. 'Eric, I… I wish I could say it. I really want to. But I don't want you to die,' the Gardevoir thought. 'You're the best thing that ever happened to me… I feel safer, I'm not suffering, and… there's something else about you… I can't describe it…

Eric looked a little confused, but shrugged it off. "Well, we're done here. Let's keep moving."

A/N: I had a lot of fun with this chapter. I got to show somebody other than Brandon or Cynthia beating Paul in a battle, as well as hinting toward another element in the story here.


	8. Chapter 7: Concert Time!

I don't own Pokemon. All copyrighted items used and/or mentioned are property of their respective owners/creators.

So here I am, with Chapter 7 finally up. Something that I want to point out is that I may be revising the other chapters sometime in the near future (revising as in: Fixing errors, rewording sentences, giving better explanations, etc.). So if you decide to revisit other chapters and notice something different, that's why.

Also, I was thinking about maybe writing a Left 4 Dead/Maximum Ride crossover fic, as a side project. What do you people think? If you leave a review, tell me what you think of the idea.

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

-- = Scene Breaks

Chapter 7: Concert Time!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009; 7:00 P.M.

"Welcome to Jubilife City! We're here!" Eric declared as he and Ivana walked down the busy city streets. "Let's head to the Pokemon Center first."

(Alright.) Ivana agreed quietly.

As they walked,

"WHOOO! YEAAAAHH!" A loud, rowdy cheer came from the town square, where a massive crowd was gathered in front of what looked like a stage. Nearby, there were a few people just watching the mob, most of them with confused expressions. Eric decided to someone standing a few feet away that didn't look totally clueless.

"Hey, do you know what's going on here?" he asked.

"Oh, that? Yeah, there's supposed to be a concert going on in a little while, apparently," the guy explained. He was a little bit taller than Eric, with tanned skin, red t-shirt, and blue jeans. "Funny thing, though. I didn't hear anything about a concert until just a few hours ago. And I'm always the first to know about stuff like that! I don't even know who's playing!"

"Do you know when it starts?" Eric inquired curiously.

"Yeah, it's actually supposed to start in a few minutes."

Eric glanced at the crowd. From the looks of it, there were probably hundreds of people, more than half of them drunk. The smell was enough information on that. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a red roof. The Pokemon Center, on the other side of the square.

'Well, that's just perfect. This crowd stretches all the way to the other buildings and then some. It'll take too long to go around. Oh well, I guess I'm going through.' Eric thought.

"Come on, Ivana. We're gonna have to cut through the mob."

The Embrace pokemon put on an expression that said "I'm not going to enjoy this, am I?"

Just as the two were about to enter the horde, something occurred to him. "Wait," he said, just loudly enough for Ivana to hear over the shouting. "Let's go around the back of the stage. There won't be as many people and we won't draw as much attention."

(Thanks Arceus…) she answered. "Come on, let's go." The trainer and his pokemon made their way towards the stage, weaving through a few stragglers and dodging the occasional thrown beer bottle or can. After about a minute, they ended up behind the stage. Eric stopped for a second to get his bearings.

"Hey, you! You got those gas cans ready and loaded?" a voice said from backstage.

"Yes sir!" another much younger voice toned. "We've loaded up the 'nade launchers with the sleeping gas cans."

This voice got Eric's attention. 'Wait, what? 'Nade launchers? Does he mean grenade launchers?!' he thought. The trainer got closer to the stage, with Ivana close behind him. He peered through a small hole in a wooden fence and saw two men talking. The first man was shorter than the other, but looked older than the taller man. Some other people carrying large guns would occasionally come into view for a few seconds.

"So remember the plan, new kid. When the curtains open, you go out and give a "speech" to get those idiots riled up. When you're done, the others will start shooting. Once everyone's out, start searching."

"Wait, searching for what?"

The taller man held out a picture, but Eric couldn't see what the picture was of from where he was looking. "You can loot everyone else, but find this kid and bring him to me. I'm gonna punish him personally.

"Yes sir! But… I don't understand why I had to leave my gun in the forest. It was a brand new Desert Eagle, too!"

"Because you can't aim worth shit. Last time you had a gun, you shot one of our own in the leg, remember?

"Yes sir." Eric heard footsteps going away from where he was. 'So this whole concert thing is a scam!' he thought. 'I've gotta do something about this… but what?... We should get out of here before we get caught…'

The American trainer motioned for Ivana to follow him and started heading towards the center. But he accidentally kicked an empty can on the way there.

"Hey you! Stop!"

"Damn it! Run!" Eric ordered, grabbing Ivana's green arm and dashing towards the pokemon center. He chanced a quick glance back at their pursuer. A burly man in a suit was chasing after them. He also had what looked like a stun gun in his right hand.

After seeing the stun gun, Eric willed himself to run faster. Luckily, he didn't need to for very long; he entered the center after about five seconds.

"Phew…" he panted. "That didn't go so well…" Eric turned to Ivana. "Are you alright?"

(…I-I think s-so…) she stuttered back. (I'm just… a little t-tired…)

"Ok. Ivana, I'm going to put you in your ball for a few minutes to heal," the trainer said. He held out the red and white sphere and returned her to it before approaching the nurse at the counter. Eric didn't see the huge look of relief on her face as she disappeared.

"Hello, can I help you?" she said. Strangely enough, this nurse looked exactly the same as the one he met in Sandgem Town… and the one in Oreburgh City… not to mention the one in Eterna… Hey, anyone else notice a pattern forming here?

"Yeah, two things. One, can you put my pokemon on the refresher?" he asked, holding out his belt.

"Certainly. And?"

"I also want to get a room for the night."

"Of course. Here's the key; it's room 7."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Your pokemon should be finished with their healing session in a few minutes."

Eric went over a couch on the other side of the lobby and sat down. 'So those people are trying to knock out the crowd with sleeping gas… Is it because they want to rob everyone? Something more? No matter… I should probably get the cops involved… I can't stop them myself…'

"Oh, good evening, Officer Jenny. Do you need anything?" a familiar voice said.

"Yes, Kale here needs healing," another voice said. This one sounded feminine and serious, but in a calm way. "Someone thought it would be a good idea to try to attack him."

Eric looked up at the stranger. They appeared to be female, with greenish-blue hair, a blue cap, top, and pants. She also wore white gloves and had a pokeball in her right hand. 'Hey, perfect timing…' he thought. The trainer stood up and approached the counter.

The stranger heard his footsteps and turned to face him. "Hello there," she said with a smile. Eric saw the badge on the front of her blue uniform. Yep, definitely a cop.

"Uh, hi. Hey, Joy. Are my pokemon done yet?" he asked.

"Not ye-" she began, before being cut off by an electronic chime. "Actually, yes. They just now finished." "And Kale?" "I'll go see." And with that, the pokemon nurse went into the back room to get Eric pokeballs.

"So what happened to your pokemon?" the officer next to him asked.

"Meh… just a few scrapes and bruises… nothing serious…" 'Wait a sec… why the hell am I wasting time making small talk?'

"Officer Jenny?" he began, using the name that he heard Nurse Joy use. "Do you know why that crowd is out there?"

"Yes. There's a concert that's starting in about an hour. Why?"

"You have to clear everyone out of there."

"And why is that?"

"Because it's not a concert. It's a trap."

"What do you mean 'trap'?" she asked.

"People with grenade launchers putting the crowd to sleep with gas. Then looting everyone while looking for one kid and kidnapping them so that who I assume is their leader can torture them." Eric said.

The officer crossed her arms and looked at him with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Dare I ask how you know all of this?"

"I was trying to go around the mob to get here when I overheard a conversation about that."

"Pardon me, here are your pokemon." Nurse Joy said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Oh, thanks." Eric replied, taking the belt, putting it around his waist, and letting Ivana out. Jenny also did the same (minus the belt).

"Well, I'll go and check it out, Mr…" Jenny began.

"Eric. Eric Lombardi."

"Right," Jenny said. "Kale and I will look into this matter. Thank you for telling me this."

"Wait. I'm coming with you."

"What? Why?"

Eric shook his head. "I don't know why, but… I have a bad feeling about one of them…"

The cop thought for a moment before responding. "Okay. You can come along. Just try not to draw any attention."

The American trainer gave a quick salute. "You know it!"

--A few minutes later--

Officer Jenny, Eric, and Ivana had gone back to the stage where the trainer had overheard the men talking. Jenny brought them to an area where no one could see them from inside. "Kale and I will go on ahead," the officer explained, taking her pokeball and pressing the button. A bright light emitted when the capsule opened and from that light appeared a Growlithe. "You two wait here. Kale will get you when the coast is clear."

"If you say so, Jenny," Eric said with a nod. The officer slowly crept away, with Kale in tow. The teen glanced at Ivana. The Gardevoir was staring blankly at her green hands, clearly in deep thought. Eric wanted pry on her, but he told himself to ask later. After all, they WERE trying to be silent.

Just then, the trainer felt a nudge against his leg. 'Wow… that didn't take long…' he thought, looking down at the Puppy pokemon. Eric tapped Ivana on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow. The Growlithe led them to Officer Jenny, who was hiding behind a dumpster.

"Alright, you two, I want you to wait here," Jenny said.

"Again?"

"Yes. These people could be armed. I don't want to put you in any more danger."

"Well, too bad." Eric whispered, grabbing a pokeball from his belt. "I'm going in there. And you can't stop me."

Officer Jenny looked the trainer into his light brown eyes. They shimmered with determination. She saw that no matter what she did, he would go anyways.

"…Fine," she conceded. "But take Kale with you. If you get caught, he can defend you."

"Okay. Ivana, get back in your ball," Eric muttered, returning the Embrace pokemon to her ball. "I don't want to put you in danger." He replaced Ivana's pokeball on his belt, unslung his backpack, and started rummaging through it as quietly as possible. He quickly found what he was looking for and placed it in a belt loop, just out of Jenny's view.

"Watch this for me," he said, handing the cop his backpack. "Don't steal anything, I'll be back shortly." Then he snuck away from the dumpster, being careful not to let Jenny see what he had in his belt loop. Kale followed him, constantly scanning for other people that might see them. Then he spotted someone. Thinking quickly, Eric pressed himself against a nearby wall. The person looked in his direction, but didn't come to investigate.

'I've got to get rid of that guy if I'm going to get in… Maybe Tara could help here…' he thought. Eric took the Eevee's ball and let her out.

[Veeee-] Tara started before her trainer clamped his hand over her mouth. "Shhh…"

"Huh? What was that?" Eric heard, followed by approaching footsteps. 'Damn it!'

"Tara, I need you to go and distract that guy. Okay?"

[Ve,] the Evolution pokemon said in a low voice. Tara trotted out from behind the wall.

"Hey, look! An Eevee!" the guy declared. "C'mere, little one," he said in a mischievous tone. "We're gonna have some fun! Hehehe…"

Tara gazed back at him in fear and ran back to where her trainer and Kale were hiding.

[Veeeeeee!] she exclaimed, hiding behind Eric's legs. Eric could hear the man's footsteps getting louder, closer. 'Time for Plan B, then…' he thought. The teen got closer to the edge of the wall. Then just when the man rounded the corner, Eric tripped him, causing Tara's pursuer to fall face first into the pavement. He didn't waste any time. He grabbed the object in his belt loop and pointed it at the man. When the man looked up, he found himself on the business end of a Desert Eagle. Eric grinned a little. Then in one swift motion, he shifted his grip to the barrel of the gun and struck the man on the head with it.

'There…' he thought, checking his eyelids. 'He's out…' Eric looted the body, finding nothing but a switchblade and some cash. He pocketed them both, motioned for Officer Jenny to arrest him, and moved on.

Eric, Kale, and Tara ducked behind some crates that were probably used for lighting equipment or something. Eric cautiously peeked out from behind their hiding place. This time, there were three people just standing around, talking.

The first one was a male, about 15, Eric guessed. He was about 5'6", with blonde, bowl-cut hair. He wore a plain black t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers.

The second one was a female. She was about an inch taller than the 15-year-old, probably in her early 20's, with black hair tied in a single ponytail. She wore a simple, red gown and black skateboard shoes.

The last one was a male. He looked about 19 or 20, 6 feet tall, and had short, messy hair. He was wearing a black trench coat, a brown cowboy hat, and brown combat boots. He was also holding some sort of weapon on his right shoulder. For some reason, looking at this person made Eric feel uneasy.

All three of them had a knife strapped to their left arms.

"So, Rena, did you see Greg around lately?" the youngest asked.

"No… I wonder where the bastard has gotten off to this time…" the female said, Rena.

"I wouldn't be at all surprised if we went out back and caught him with his dick up some pokemon's ass," the older male remarked with a sneer. "We all know that he's a pokephile."

"Really?" the youngest asked. "How come I didn't know?"

"Because," Rena replied. "You never listen, Andrew."

Andrew glared at Rena for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Well, either way, we need to get Greg to get up to his post in the rafters." Andrew said, pointing to the metal walkway suspended above their heads. "Right, Miles?"

Eric's brown eyes practically jumped out of their sockets. 'Please tell me that isn't "our" Miles…'

The older male glared at Andrew. "What did I say about using my name?" Miles spat.

"Uhhh… not to?"

"That's right. Next time you do that, it won't be pretty."

Andrew ran from Rena and Miles, straight in Eric's direction. And he didn't even bother to watch where he was going. He ran right into the crates that Eric, Tara, and Kale were hiding behind, and fell over them. Andrew opened his eyes.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?!" he exclaimed.

'Dammit!! He caught us!' Eric thought.

"Whoever you are, come out from there!" Rena shouted. Eric decided to cooperate; even with Tara and Kale at his side, his three adversaries were all armed. The American trainer stood up and walked into view.

"Who are you?!" Rena shouted, approaching the intruder. "Don't you know that you're trespassing?"

"Rena, wait." Miles ordered. She stopped and turned to face Miles. "Look at him. Who does he look like to you?"

'Oh, great… these people know who I am…' Eric thought.

"Our target…" Andrew and Rena said simultaneously.

"Eric Lombardi… Well, this makes our job a hell of a lot easier…" Miles grinned evilly.

"Kill him... Now."

Rena and Andrew pulled their knives out and dashed at the trainer.

'Oh, shit!' Eric dodged Andrew by grabbing him when he stabbed and shoving him hard towards the wall. Then he and Kale ran, returning Tara to her ball as he did so.

"STOP HIM! KILL HIM NOW!!!" he could hear Miles screaming after him.

"JENNY!!" the trainer shouted at the top of his lungs as he left the backstage area. "A LITTLE HELP HERE!!" Eric rounded a corner, heading towards the dumpster where he last saw Jenny.

The blue-clad officer popped up behind the dumpster with a taser in her hand. "FREEZE!" she exclaimed. Eric's pursuers didn't stop, however. In fact, ran harder after their quarry.

Eric passed the officer, followed by Miles and Andrew. Jenny didn't react fast enough to catch them, but she was able to grab and subdue Rena, thanks to a little assistance from Kale. He stopped in his tracks, going into a Flame Wheel aimed at Rena. She sidestepped the attack only to run straight into Officer Jenny, who slapped a pair of handcuffs on her.

"Leave me alone!!" Eric shouted at his assailants as he ran. They didn't even seem to hear him. They now were running right next to the edge of the mob of drunken "fans," waiting for the "concert" to begin. Just then, a noise from behind caught his attention. Much to his surprise/delight, Andrew got hit in the head with a rock by some people who wanted to do a little "target practice." He lost balance, falling over and rolling a few times before stopping, dazed. It didn't take long for Jenny to arrive and nab him as well.

Eric changed course onto the streets of Jubilife, with Miles not far behind. 'Damn it!!' he thought. 'He's faster than me!! I've gotta try to lose him…' He spied an alley a few yards away. 'Perfect…' The trainer changed direction and dashed into the alleyway. A few wild pokemon scattered as he fled.

Unfortunatly, he realized his mistake too late. Dead end. Eric skidded to a halt a few feet away from the wall.

"End of the line." Miles declared. The cornered trainer turned around and drew the handgun from his belt loop, aiming it at Miles. Almost simultaneously, his assailant produced a sawed-off shotgun from his trench coat and pointed it at Eric's head.

The two stood there for what seemed like years, the only thing separating the two being a light that cast illumination on the ground in front of their feet.

"Nowhere to run, Lombardi," the black-clad man taunted.

"Oh, really?" Eric said in an overly sarcastic tone. "Gee, I hadn't noticed." He shifted his voice. "Thanks for the update, dumbass!"

"I'll tell ya what," Miles began, taking a few steps forward into the light. "I'm a reasonable guy. So I'll give you a choice. You can either give her back to me and live to see tomorrow. OR… You can refuse… and I blast your head off."

Eric had a pretty good idea who he his gun was aimed at, and decided to play dumb.

"What the fuck are you talking about?! 'Give her back?' What's that supposed to mean?"

BANG!! BANG!!

Two shots rang out, narrowly missing Eric. "Don't bother, Lombardi," Miles spat, reloading his shotgun. "We both know that you have her. Now give her back or die."

"WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING TALKING ABOUT?!?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!" the American trainer screamed.

"I've had just about enough of this," Miles said, casting aside his hat. "Surrender her to me… Now." Miles ended that sentence with every drop of malice he had. "Don't be a fool, Lombardi." He opened his eyes. "I'd rather not have to add you to my kill list."

It was then that Eric's worst fears were realized. It WAS him! Miles! Ivana's previous trainer!

"…" Eric tried to speak, but no words would come.

"…Fine… Have it your way…" Miles dropped his shotgun and slowly began to advance on his mark.

Eric panicked and squeezed the trigger of his Desert Eagle, pumping several bullets into the flesh of the approaching man. Five seconds later, the gun clicked empty. Eric checked the clip, and then looked at his enemy. He wasn't even bleeding! Suddenly, he felt a strong force grab him and lift him into the air.

Miles chuckled evilly and stopped. He raised his arm towards the helpless teen. A strange aura began to form around it. "So long, Eric Lombardi. You will not be missed." The aura around his arm flew towards Eric.

Eric held his arms up in an effort to defend himself. "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed.

"WHAT?!" he heard Miles exclaim. Eric opened his eyes to be greeted with a bright light. "Damn it! You have only prolonged your death, kid! This isn't over!!!"

Miles ran off into the night, stopping briefly to retrieve his hat and sawed-off shotgun.

Eric felt the force holding him aloft fade and dropped to the ground, landing hard on his back. For some reason, he felt excruciatingly weak; and not just from the fall.

"Eric!! Where are you?!"

'That…that sounds like Officer Jenny…' he thought.

"Errrriiiiic! Where are y- Eric! There you are!" the police officer ran to him. The last thing the trainer saw was her worried face looking into his, before slipping away into unconsciousness…

A/N: Well, whaddya think? I spent a lot of time and effort on this one, so I really hope you like it!

One more thing, I've decided that I don't like two of my other OC's. These OC's are meant to be Eric's companions during his travels. So I'm going to let you, the readers, make them! Submit your OC's to me ASAP and they will become main characters. I'm only going to accept TWO though, so make 'em good! (Note: If I decide to use your OC('s), don't expect to see them in Chapter 8; that's reserved for something else…)

Here's a list of what I need to know about them:

Name

Age (Preferably between 13 and 18)

Date of Birth (Optional)

Sex (One will be male, one will be female; submit 2 OC's if you like)

Race/Ethnicity

Physical Appearance (Height, build, hair/eye/skin color, scars, etc.)

Clothing/Jewelry

Possessions (Only what will fit into a backpack/purse or slung across one's back)

Personality

Opinion of Eric

Opinion of Ivana

Battle/Contest style (I would like to have one that mainly does contests; mainly so that I can experiment with it)

Pokemon (Nickname if they have one, personality, moveset, anything else, NO LEGENDARIES!!!!!)

Miscellaneous (Anything else you want to include, such as fears, fetishes, etc.)

See ya soon!


	9. Chapter 8: Your Time Has Come

I don't own Pokémon. Nintendo and Game Freak do (I think so anyways; correct me if I'm wrong…or don't)

I've been waiting a long time to do this chapter… I've had it planned out from day 1, and have been building on it ever since. It is quite long, but very important to the plot, so you may want to pay attention. I hope you people out there like it!

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

-- = Scene Breaks

Chapter 8: Your Time Has Come…

Date: ?????

'… Silence… Darkness… Emptiness… Is there no end to it all...? It feels like… an eternity… that I've been floating here… Suspended in the unknown… How did this happen…? WHY did this have to happen to me…? What IS he…? Why did he not die, let alone bleed, after being shot nine times? How did he attack me like that…? How did I survive…? What was that light…? What is happening…?'

(Please… You… up…)

'That voice… I know that voice… Who is it…? It… sounds so… familiar…'

(…Don't… do… live… you…)

'I can't quite make out what it's saying… '

(…I am… for you… please, wake up…)

'It's becoming clearer… Wait… Ivana?'

(Eric, it's been so long… please wake up…)

'Ivana! It IS her! …I've got to get out of here… But how… Wait… I… I see a light… floating towards me… It's mesmerizing… That light… it's merging with my body… I feel rejuvenated! Enough of this, I need to get out!'

--Sunday, April 19, 2009; 6:39 P.M.--

{It is of no use, Ivana. Eric cannot hear you.}

(But that's impossible! I know he's in there!)

{Ivana… My master has been like this for five days now…}

"And at this rate… he may very well stay like this for quite a while."

(But why? Why did this happen to him?!)

"We don't know, Gardevoir. When he came in, there was no real indication of anything that could have potentially put him in this coma."

(But there must be SOMETHING…)

"We are doing what we can to keep him alive. But for now, all we can do is sit and- wait?"

{What is wrong, sir?}

"The scanners are showing signs of immense brain activity! How is this possible?!"

(What does that mean?)

"It means that Mr. Lombardi here is thinking. This is very good!"

(Eric, can you hear me?)

'…'

(Eric? Please… answer me.)

'…'

"Anything, Gardevoir?"

{She has a name.}

"Right, sorry. Are you getting anything, Ivana?"

(I'm trying… He's there, but he won't answer me.)

"Actually, I think he's trying to. Try to contact him again."

(Please… Wake up… I can't stand to see you this way…)

"See? There! His brain activity just spiked!"

(Eric?! Come back!)

"His muscles are starting to move, too.(1) I think he's waking up.

(Eric, get up!)

"……….Ugh………."

"See? There! His brain activity just spiked!"

'What? That voice… I don't know that voice…'

(Eric?! Come back!)

'Ivana… Come on, Eric. Time to wake up!'

"His muscles are starting to move, too. I think he's waking up."

(Eric, get up!)

"……….Ugh……….."

"……….Ugh……….." he managed to eek out.

Eric opened his eyes very slowly, adjusting them to the light.

"It worked… I can't believe it…"

"Wha- Huh? W-who's there?" Eric stuttered.

He opened his eyes more as they stung less. He found himself in white room, hooked up to a whole plethora of machines. He felt control of his body slowly return and tried to sit up.

"Wait, Mr. Lombardi. Don't get up just yet," somebody instructed.

[Veeeeeee!]

"Now there's someone I recognize! Hey Tara!" Eric chuckled as he felt Tara's warm, sandpaper tongue against his cheek.

{Master, you are awake at last…}

Eric glanced at the Aura pokemon that stood at his bedside. Right next to him was Ivana, who stared back at him with a smile. Axel leaned against the opposite wall in his usual position: eyes closed, head down, arms crossed.

"Uhh… yeah… I guess I am, Matthias."

"How do you feel, Mr. Lombardi?"

Eric looked at the man who had asked the question. He was slim, with short blond hair, dark blue eyes, and wearing a white lab coat.

"Who're you?" Eric asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm Dr. Caran," he said.

"I… guess I feel fine… I've got a bit of a headache though…" Then Eric decided to start asking questions. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You're at the Jubilife City Hospital. A very kind officer brought you here."

"Officer Jenny?"

"That's the one, kid."

"So… What happened?"

"Well, you were in a coma when you got here five days ago."

"Is there anything particularly wrong with me?"

"Not really. But I do need to have you do some tests to see how well you've recovered so far."

--Two Hours Later…--

"Ughh… Finally out of there…" Eric groaned as he, Ivana, Axel, Matthias, and Tara left the hospital. "Let's head back to the Pokemon Center. I think there should still be a room open." They started walking down the street towards the P.C.

(Thank Arceus you're alright, Eric. I was so worried about you,) Ivana chimed, drawing closer to her trainer and hugging him.

"I'll bet," he said absently. Meanwhile, his mind was on something completely different.

'Ivana probably doesn't know about what happened. Perhaps I should keep that to myself for now…'

(What happened to you, Eric?) Ivana pried. (How did you end up like that?)

"I... I w-wish I knew how to answer that question," he lied. Matthias grunted, turning Eric's attention towards him. The Lucario shook his head.

Matthias had known Eric for the longest time. So, he knew just about everything about his trainer. He could also tell when he was lying, keeping secrets, or troubled over something, just by the tone Eric spoke in.

The trainer decided that he would explain everything to Ivana, but for now, he needed to figure out how to say it without Ivana breaking down again.

Eric felt a yawn escape his lips and began to feel drowsy. 'Weird…' he thought. 'You'd think that after being in a coma for so long, one wouldn't be anywhere near tired… Oh well, I guess a good night's sleep would be good for me.'

After another ten minutes, he finally reached the Center, got a room key from Nurse Joy, and went into the room. "Have you guys eaten yet?" Eric asked, closing the door and taking his backpack off. {Yes, Master.} Matthias replied. (The people at the hospital were kind enough to give us food and water while we stayed with you at your bedside.) Ivana added. "…" Eric felt touched; he was so very lucky to have them.

"Well, I'm gonna hit the hay. I don't know why, but I feel really tired all of a sudden… G'night." Eric lay down on one of the bottom bunks. He saw Ivana's white "gown" pass through his field of vision. She got onto the other bunk and stared at him. Eric noticed that she had a slight blush on her face, and her expression was one of relief. He flashed her a quick smile before sleep overtook him…

'…What happened to you, Eric?' Ivana thought. 'Why did you go into that coma? … He looks… I can't quite understand it… Why do I get this feeling when I look at you?'

--Midnight--

Eric and company now slept peacefully. Axel took up his usual place on the top bunk. Matthias slept on the opposite top bunk. And Ivana still lay in the same spot, with Tara curled up next to her.

"…Eerriiiicc…"

A strange, soulless voice woke Eric from his slumber. "What was that…?" he muttered to himself.

"…Eerriiiicc…"

"There it is again…" The trainer stood up as quietly as he could and crept over to the window.

"Hey, what's that?" A small orb of light hung in the shadow of a nearby cluster of trees. He felt compelled to approach it. The trainer climbed out the window and landed softly in the grass. The orb began to move into the darkness of the trees, almost as if beckoning for Eric to follow it.

"Wait. Come back!" Eric chased after the bizarre orb. 'That thing… I know I've seen it somewhere before…' he thought as he ran. The trees blocked out a great deal of the moonlight. "I can't see a damned thing in here," Eric muttered as he went deeper into the darkness. The only thing that kept him on course was the fleeing orb.

He chased it into a small patch of grass, where the orb finally halted. Eric tried to grab it, but it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

"Oh, great. Now where'd it go?"

Just as Eric finished his sentence, a blinding light erupted from thin air. He shielded his eyes with his arms as he tried to see through it.

"…Eerriiiicc…" the voice uttered once again, but it sounded different this time. It sounded like a female, not a ghost.

"W-who… Who's there?!" Eric exclaimed.

"…Do not fear, human…"

"What?"

The light faded to a soft glow, and took a shape. It had a blue, swan-like body with a yellow underside, and two magenta tufts that formed an arc across its chest. The yellow ornaments on the sides of its head gave its head the appearance of a crescent moon. It also had glowing, pink, ring-like wings on its sides and back, with what looked like paws resting on its chest.

"Who are you?" asked a very confused Eric.

[I am Cresselia…] it replied calmly. [The time has come for you to learn your true purpose… Eric Lombardi…]

"My… purpose? What do you mean by that?"

[…Your actions are essential if the world is to survive, young warrior…]

"But that doesn't answer my ques- …Wait… if the world is to survive?"

[…You have been chosen… you must fight the Darkness…]

Eric crossed his arms and started at the Lunar pokemon in bewilderment. "Chosen? Why me?"

[Your Aura… it is the strongest that we have seen in millennia… You are the only one who is powerful enough to ward off the evil…]

"Darkness? Evil? What do you mean?"

Cresselia closed her eyes and her body began to glow. Eric's surroundings were swallowed by light, which faded to reveal the ruins of a city. The sky was dark and dim. The air was tainted with the smell of rotting flesh, which made sense, considering that there were bloody corpses of both humans and pokemon strewn everywhere. There were no buildings, at least, not anymore, it seemed. Instead, there were massive piles of debris.

"What… what is this?" he asked, cupping his hand over his nose to block out the horrific smell.

[This is what the world could become in the future… and this is why…] The apocalyptic scene vanished and was replaced with an image of a floating figure. It had a small head with a white fog-like ghostly substance billowing from its head that covering one of its bright blue eyes. It also had red spiky growth around its neck, skinny arms, and long black tatters hanging from its shoulders.

"What the hell is that thing?"

[…Darkrai… the embodiment of Darkness and my mortal enemy... He is the reason I have come to you, young warrior…]

"Tell me this, Cresselia. How could one…" he paused, trying to figure out if Darkrai was a pokemon or not. "…pokemon bring about the apocalypse?"

[Since the beginning of time, there had always been a delicate balance between the Light and the Darkness. Darkrai is the being of Darkness, while I am the being of light. Darkrai has always been attempting to upset this balance. I have been able to stop him(2) very many times, but he has grown bolder with each attempt. I fear that I can no longer prevent him from succeeding alone.]

Cresselia seemed to enter a state of deep thought for a moment before speaking again.

[I have no more time to explain. We will meet again, young warrior.] And with that, she rose up into the night sky, and faded away.

"Hey, Wait! Cresselia!!!" he called after her. "Damn it… Huh? What's that humming noise?"

Eric looked up into the sky again and saw yet another orb of light, floating down from where Cresselia had disappeared. It stopped its slow descent just inches from Eric's face.

As he gazed at it, he felt an overwhelming urge to take it. The trainer slowly reached out to touch the sphere. As soon as his skin made contact, it was absorbed into his body. A feeling of great power washed over him, but soon faded.

'What the hell was THAT all about?' he thought. 'Cresselia said something about the end of the world… and a pokemon named Darkrai… I wonder if the pokedex has any info on it…'

After about 30 seconds, he heard something rustling to his left. Eric quickly turned to face his left, his eyes scanning the dim surroundings a little more easily now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark.

"Hello?" he called. "Someone there?"

Eric listened closely to his environment. He heard footsteps; very light, quiet footsteps. He also heard strange chatter coming from the same direction, yet… it didn't seem so strange after hearing it for a few seconds. It sounded familiar now… 'That voice… Ivana.' he thought. 'What's she doing out here…?'

Indeed, it was Ivana. She slowly walked in Eric's direction, seemingly(3) unaware of his presence. The moonlight against her skin made looking at her… entrancing… He could see her mouth moving, and hear her speaking her language. Eric couldn't understand her, but he didn't need a translator to know that she was talking to herself. Nor did he need one to detect the troubled tone in her voice.

Hearing her reminded him of their trip from the hospital to the Pokemon Center. 'She still doesn't know what happened… Well, it may shock her, but I need to keep her faith in me…' Eric approached his pokemon. "Hi, Ivana."

She glanced at him, her face showing confusion. (Eric? What are you doing out here?)

Eric sat down in the grass and gestured for her to follow suit. "Funny. I was just about to ask you the same thing."

The Embrace pokemon took a seat next to her trainer. (…I-I just came out here for some air…)

"Same here." Eric turned to Ivana. "I heard you talking to yourself. What was it about?"

(…I…I…I'm sorry. I was just so worried about you. What happened to you? Why did you fall into that coma?)

'Moment of truth, Eric. Moment of truth…no pun intended…'

"Well, I got to know Miles a little…"

(MILES?!)

"Calm down, calm down," he said. "It was probably going to happen sooner or later…"

Tears began to well in the Psychic type's crimson eyes. (Why didn't you tell me sooner? Do you not trust me??)

"I trust you, Ivana. But… I was unsure of whether or not I should tell you this at all." Eric let out a deep sigh. "I didn't want you to be worried; worried about me or you. But I realized that just like you need to tell ME everything, I need to tell YOU everything."

(…I'm so sorry, Eric… please forgive me…) she whispered.

"Huh? Forgive you?"

(…I wasn't able to protect you… I could have stopped this from happening to you…)

"No, you couldn't have. And even if you could, I wouldn't let you."

(Huh?)

"I'm grateful that you want to protect me and all, but Miles is just too dangerous. It's like he's not even human… Somehow I survived my encounter with him… but I can't guarantee that you would survive if he got a hold of you."

(But…)

Eric looked Ivana in the eye and spoke. "I know it's your nature… but I don't want to see you get killed… or worse…"

(…Thank you… Eric…) Ivana said with a slight smile.

"Don't mention it!" Eric stood up and held a hand out to the Embrace pokemon. "Now come on. Let's go back to bed."

Ivana grabbed his hand and followed him back inside. There she plopped down on the bed and quickly fell asleep. Eric lay back in his, thinking. 'Jeez, so far I've saved a pokemon's life, been chased by a homicidal maniac who happens to be her former trainer, put in a coma, seen the apocalypse… What have I gotten myself into…'

A/N: How was it? Was it informative? Awesome? Some other adjective-that-I'm-too-lazy-to-go-and-get-a-dictionary-so-that-I-can-look-it-up? R&R!!!

(1). I don't know everything about comas. Like I said previously, just go with it.

(2). Yes, Darkrai is supposed to be genderless. But in the PMD Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky, Cresselia refers to it as a male. So there.

(3). Ivana is able to sense the presences of others, but she is only able to do so when she is trying to. She can still sense emotions without trying if she's close enough.


	10. Chapter 9: Why Hello There!

Guess what? I don't own Pokemon! *Crowd gasps, babies cry, some random woman faints, somebody shouts "WHAT?"*

I want to thank everyone who submitted their OC's to me; a lot of them were really good. I settled on two of them, so special thanks to those two users (you know who you are). But be warned: You decided what their personalities, teams, etc. were, but I ultimately decide their actions.

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

* * = Sound Effects

-- = Scene Breaks

* * *

Chapter 9: Why Hello There!

Monday, April 20, 2009; 7:15 A.M.

The dawn was just beginning to creep over the horizon, letting a tiny amount of light into Eric's room. Everyone slept soundly.

*Knock knock knock*

"…I don't want any…" Eric moaned sleepily as he heard knocking on his door.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lombardi? Are you in there?" someone said from the other side.

"Dammit…" he cursed under his breath as he stood up and pulled some pants on.

"Hello? Are you in there, Mr. Lombardi?"

Eric yanked the door open in response. There stood Nurse Joy, smiling warmly. "… Now that you've woken me up, what do you want?" he said in a sleepy, irritated voice.

"I just wanted to let you know that you have a phone call," she replied.

"A phone call? From who?"

"I don't remember his name, but he asked for you specifically."

"…Alright, let me get dressed and wake the others. I'll be down there in a bit."

"Ok." Nurse Joy spun on her heels and walked down the hall. Eric shut the door and hit the lights. Then he grabbed his backpack and poured out some food for his pokemon.

"Alright, guys! Wake up!" he exclaimed. Although he realized that he didn't need to; the knocking and the lights being turned on were enough. "Time to eat!" The pokemon grabbed their food and shoveled it in hungrily; even Ivana was going at it like she hadn't eaten in days.

Not even two minutes had passed and the team was finished, so Eric cleaned up and got them out of the room. He followed suit, locking the door behind him and heading down the hall towards the lobby, where the trainer assumed Nurse Joy would be waiting for him.

Eric and co. went into the large room. And, indeed, Joy was behind the counter.

"Ah, there you are," she said. "I transferred the call over to that video phone." The Nurse pointed at the device mounted on the wall.

"Ok." The American champion walked over to it, and picked up the receiver, and spoke.

"Hello?"

"THIS INFERNAL THING DOESN'T WORK! WHY CAN'T I- Oh, wait, there we go…"

'I'd know that voice anywhere…'

"Hello, Prof. Aldin!" Eric said. An image flashed onto the video screen, and it was indeed him.

"Why hello there, Eric! I've been trying to reach you for hours!"

"Uhhh… how long exactly?"

"Three hours to be exact."

"Erm… I don't know about you, but I was asleep at four in the morning."

"Right… sorry… Anyways, back to why I called. Someone wants to see you."

Eric looked at him questioningly.

"Come over here and say "hello!"

[Niiiiiiine!] something said/squealed.

"Krystal? Is that you, girl?"

A black-furred fox-like creature appeared on the video phone's screen.

[Niine! Ninetails!]

"She's recovered quite nicely, Eric. I think she's ready to join you," the aged man said happily.

"Yeah, I'll say! Why don't you send her over here?"

Prof. Aldin held up a pokeball. "Of course." He returned Krystal to the metallic sphere and pressed a few buttons.

"It'll take a few minutes for her ball to get there."

"Yep."

"So what's new with you, Eric? Anything interesting?"

Eric opened his mouth, but he hesitated momentarily. 'If I tell him about Miles, he would probably make me come back home. I'm not ready to leave Sinnoh just yet…'

"Uhhh… Not much, actually. I've gotten the first two badges and I'm on my way to get the third."

"Great job! Anything else?"

"Uhhhh…"

(…Eric?)

The American champion turned around to see Ivana about three inches from his face.

"Gaah!" he exclaimed. "Don't do that! You scared the crap outta me!" he said with a chuckle.

The Embrace pokemon blushed slightly. (Sorry, Eric.)

"And who might this be, Eric?" Prof. Aldin inquired.

"Oh, right. You haven't met her yet." Eric moved the Gardevoir into view of the phone's camera. "Prof. Aldin, meet Ivana, our newest addition to the team." She raised a green hand and waved nervously.

"Ivana, eh? Very nice to meet you. I'm Prof. Aldin."

(Nice to meet you, too,) she replied.

"She says 'Nice to meet you, too.'"(1)

"I just have to ask. Where do you keep coming up with these names for your pokemon? I just don't get it!"

Eric rubbed the back of his head. "To be honest, I don't really know."

"…Fair enough… So, when did you catch her, anyways?" the professor asked.

Ivana walked away; she knew where this conversation was going and she didn't want to hear it.

"Well, I didn't really CATCH her. I found her in Eterna Forest on my way to Eterna City."

"You found her? How did you FIND her?"

"Well, it's like this. I was just walking down the path in the forest when I heard a faint cry. I went to find the source and that's when I discovered her, lying unconscious in a pool of her own blood. So I picked her up and hauled ass to the nearest Pokemon Center, which, to my great delight, happened to be in Eterna City."

"Hmmm… So tell me, how did you convince Ivana to let you catch her?"

"The day after I brought her in, I went to the gym and got my second league badge. Afterwards, I had the nurse heal my pokemon while I went to check on her. When I went in, the nurse had to go attend to something else, so she left me alone with Ivana. I sat down next to her and put my hand in hers. That woke her up. She asked the usual questions: where she was, who I was, if I was the one that-"

"Wait one second," Prof. Aldin interrupted. "She asked you?"

"Telepathy," Eric replied briefly.

"Wow… In most cases, pokemon won't establish telepathic contact unless they have a strong bond with their trainer. That's quite incredible, Eric."

"Really? Well, I did save her and all, so maybe that's it."

"Yes, that could be a factor. There could be other reasons, but I wouldn't know unless I was there in person."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyways, she asked where she was, and what my name was. I was just about to leave her to get the others when she stopped me."

Prof. Aldin's eyes grew wide. "She stopped you? Are you alright?"

Eric laughed a little. "She didn't use force to stop me, man. She begged me not to leave, saying she was scared that something might happen to her," he reassured his guardian cheerfully, while at the same time choosing his words carefully.

"She wanted to come with me and I figured that since I needed a Psychic type, it was a win-win situation."

"Well, that's good to hear!"

Just then, the transporter next to the video phone crackled to life.

"Ah! It sounds like Krystal's pokeball has arrived!"

And he was right. A white sphere of energy formed on the transporter. It then disappeared, to reveal Krystal's pokeball.

"Yep, got it!" Eric declared, picking up the red and white capsule and showing it to the camera.

"So Eric, do you-"

"Professor! Typhlosion's at it again!" someone shouted on Prof. Aldin's end of the line.

"Damn! I'm sorry, Eric," the pokemon professor said sheepishly. "I've got to deal with Typhlosion again…"

"Lemme guess: Sakura caught him harassing that Bayleef again?"

"You're good, Eric."

"PROFESSOR! NOOOWWW!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'M COMING!... I'll talk to you later. Goodbye!" And with that, the phone call ended. Eric turned around and held out the metallic sphere.

"Hey, Tara," he said in a singsong voice. "Guess who's here!" The trainer pressed the button on the ball and it opened, a beam of energy shooting forth from it. The Eevee's eyes looked like they were ready to pop right out of their sockets when she saw what shape the light was forming. The light from the pokeball faded and there stood a dark-furred Ninetails.

[VEEEEEEEEEEEEE!] she shrieked gleefully, bolting over and running in circles around Krystal's paws.

[Niinetails!] the Fox pokemon answered, as she tried to catch one overly energetic Tara.

Eric couldn't help but break out laughing; there was something about those two that got him every time, even though he'd seen it so many times before.

"Well, SOMEBODY'S happy to see you, Krystal," he said. The Fire type's head turned towards her trainer. She trotted over and nuzzled up against Eric's waist, being greeted by his hand affectionately rubbing the fluffy crest atop her head. "Yes, I missed you, too."

(…Eric?) Ivana hailed uneasily. Krystal perked up, as if hearing what Ivana had just conveyed to Eric. She took a defensive stance against the unfamiliar pokemon, baring her fangs and growling. Eric took a step forward in an effort to put himself between the two.

"Easy, girl," he said calmly. "She's one of ours. She's with us." Almost immediately, the Fox pokemon backed off, albeit still wary of this stranger, as shown by a few of her black tails twitching.

"Krystal, this is Ivana, the newest member of the team. Ivana, this is Krystal, another member of our little group."

(…Why haven't I seen her before?) the Embrace pokemon asked, also unsure of the new face.

"She had a bit of an injury. She could have been here earlier, BUT SHE WOULDN'T STAY STILL AND KEPT HURTING HERSELF," Eric explained, making it clear to Krystal that he was still unhappy with her about that. The Fire type's face turned slightly red, clearly showing her embarrassment.

(…Oh… Alright.) Ivana replied.

Eric glanced at his watch. 'Oh… it's 7:45… 7:45? Oh shit! We missed the bus!' he thought. On his way to the Pokemon Center the night before, he bought a bus ticket that would get him to Hearthome City a hell of a lot faster. Unfortunately, that bus was the last one headed there for quite a while; he wondered why that was, but it didn't matter now and he really didn't care.

"Ok, guys," Eric declared to his companions. "Head 'em up, move 'em out!" The American champion waved goodbye to Nurse Joy before leaving the building. He stood outside the door momentarily, trying to get his bearings, before heading east towards the city limits, with his team close behind.

--Route 203; April 20, 2009; 11:59 A.M.--

"Ok, now I'm definitely sure I've been on this route before," Eric said to himself as he and his pokemon walked down the familiar path. "Yeah, I went this way when I went to Orebourgh City."

(You were there already?)

"Yeah, we were, Ivana," the trainer replied. "But we're not going to stay there. I want to cover a lot of ground to make up for missing the bus."

(Why were you there?) Ivana asked again.

{We were there to battle the gym leader, Roark,} Matthias said, just as Eric opened his mouth. "And before you ask, we won," Eric added.

(…Oh, alright…) Ivana appeared to enter a state of deep thought, but promptly shook it off.

"Alakazam!" A voice echoed in the distance. "Use Psychic!"

Eric stopped in his tracks. "Please tell me I'm not the only one that heard that."

(No, I heard it, too,) Ivana said.

The American champion silently started off towards the source of the voices. After less then a minute he saw two pokemon, locked in battle. One of them was an Alakazam, being commanded by a trainer, and the other was a Blaziken, just fighting on its own.

Eric hid in the bushes and wordlessly got his pokemon to do the same; if that Blaziken was wild, he didn't want to scare it off and ruin the trainer's chances of catching it.. The trainer looked about an inch taller than Eric was. He had a muscular, medium build, with long arms and broad shoulders. He had very dark brown hair and a V-shaped scar on his cheek.

*Snap*

Eric glanced back as the sound; Tara just stepped on a twig. Alakazam and Blaziken immediately stopped fighting and gazed in their direction.

"Hey, what are you two looking at?" the trainer asked with a British accent.

[Blaz blaziken!] the Blaze pokemon said in its "native language."(2) The Alakazam nodded and its spoons glowed with psychic energy. Before Eric even had time to figure out what was happening, he found himself and his pokemon being pulled out into the open by some unseen force, as if they were a rock in a slingshot. They landed hard in the grass, right at the trainer's feet.

"Who the hell are you?"

Eric glanced up (after spitting out a mouthful of dirt). The trainer was now eyeballing Eric and co. suspiciously. And he didn't look too happy, either.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Eric pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Nothing. I was just passing by when I heard someone shouting," Eric quickly explained. "I got curious."

"So why were you hiding?"

Eric looked over at where that Blaziken was standing and… It was still there…

"I thought you were trying to catch a wild pokemon and I didn't want to scare it off."

"Just for the record, she is NOT a 'wildy'," he replied looking in Blaziken's direction, then at Eric's waist. "You're a trainer?"

"Oh no, I'm not a trainer," the American champion said in a sarcastic tone. "I just carry these around to fool people. It works…"

"…I'll take that as a yes…" He put a hand out. "Alex Jones."

Eric shook it. "I'm Eric."

*Guuuuuugrrrrrrrlre*

Eric put a hand on his stomach. "Getting kinda hungry, but that's what I get for not eating anything for this long…" he said to himself.

"I'm getting hungry, too. You can set something up right here if you want," Alex offered. "As long as we get some, too."

"Sounds good to me," Eric answered, turning to his pokemon. "You guys getting hungry?" he asked, receiving affirmative responses from all of them.

'I guess I should be glad I overbought on supplies on my first visit to Jubilife…' Eric thought as he got to getting food for both his and Alex's pokemon. 'Let's see… he's got an Alakazam and a Blaziken… any more?'

"Hey, Alex?" Eric asked quickly. "How many pokemon do you have?"

"Five," he answered. "The others are still in their balls. Hang on, I'll let them out." Alex touched two pokeballs on his belt to open them. The light produced from them quickly took form and dispersed, revealing a Machamp, a Shedinja and a Kirlia with some sort of stone hanging around its neck.

"Ok… here. This is theirs," the American Champion said handing Alex some food. Then he sat down in the grass and grabbed some berries from his backpack. He took a glance over at Alex's pokemon. Alakazam and Machamp ate calmly, not making a sound. Shedinja… Shedinja was just plain strange. It didn't move, it only lifted pieces of its meal to its body, where they strangely disappeared. And Blaziken knelt at its trainer's side. It had an odd expression, almost as if it were begging Alex for something. His Kirlia sat on Alex's other side, grabbing food with one hand (or paw; take your pick) and playing with its stone with the other. Eric stared at the stone for a moment, trying to figure out what it was. Alex knelt between the two, rubbing Kirlia's head and mouthing something to Blaziken. Eric wasn't sure, but it looked like he was saying "not now," or something along those lines.

Then he decided to ask. "Hey, Alex?" The new trainer turned his head.

"What?"

"Just out of curiosity, what is that stone around your Kirlia's neck for?" he inquired.

"It's an Everstone," Alex replied coldly.

"Ah," Eric finished briefly, deciding to drop the subject. Judging by his tone, it probably wasn't a good idea to ask about it anymore. They were all silent afterwards.

--15 minutes later…--

Everyone finished their meal by now. Alex and Eric returned their pokemon to their pokeballs, except for Ivana. Eric grabbed his backpack and put it over his shoulders.

"Well, that was fun, but I should really get moving again," he declared, starting towards the main path again.

"…Wait."

Eric spun on his heel. "Yeah?"

"Mind if I tag along?"

"You want to come, Alex?"

The trainer took a few steps forward. "Yes. We're both headed in the same direction.(3) And besides, I want to get in a battle with you at some point."

Eric thought this over for a moment. 'He wants to come with me? I just met the guy, like, fifteen minutes ago…' He turned to Ivana. "What do you think, Ivana?" She seemed to acknowledge her trainer, but was silent for a while, appearing to be concentrated on something… or someone.

(…He doesn't seem to have any bad intentions… Alex just… I think he wants to come because of who you are, but I don't know why…)(4) she replied.

"…I don't see any reason to say 'no…' Sure, you can come," Eric finally decided.

"Thanks, Lombardi," Alex responded, putting a lot of emphasis on Eric's surname.

The American champion decided to ask just for the hell of it. "How do you know my name?"

"Because I remember seeing your face on T.V. about nine months ago."

"…Fair enough… Ok then, Alex. Come on, let's go." Eric declared. And with that, Eric, Ivana, and Alex headed back towards the main path and continued their trek towards Hearthome City.

* * *

1: Prof. Aldin can't hear Ivana because she doesn't have a bond with him, so Eric had to repeat what she said.

2: "Native language" as in "Pokespeech"

3: Alex assumes this because of the direction Eric came from.

4: Ivana doesn't actually know about Eric's title as Champion. This is because Eric has neglected to tell her; not because he wants to keep it secret, but because he doesn't really have much reason to bring it up.

A/N: So there it is. If you think it was a little bland, I apologize. With assessments starting in just a few days, I've got a lot to do. Projects, last-minute homework (my teachers just LOVE giving us work at the worst times…), studying… it's a lot to handle. But enough about that; I'm sure you're not here for my life story.

Yes, I know. I only introduced one OC in this chapter. This is mainly because by scrapping my OC's, I also had to scrap how they met Eric. So, I'm basically making it up as I go along. But don't worry, the other OC will appear later; maybe in the next chapter, I don't know quite yet.


	11. Chapter 10: Cave Mazes, Homicidal Bat

I don't own Pokemon. All I own are the story itself and my OC's.

Sorry for the long absence. It was summer vacation and when you're having fun, it's hard to remember things like this. In other words, TF2 is like crack ON crack WITHOUT the crack. : /

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

* * = Sound Effects

- = Scene Breaks

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ = End Chapter

Chapter 10: Cave Mazes, Homicidal Bats, and "The Talk"

April 20, 2009; 4:21 P.M.

"There's Mt. Coronet. We're almost there," Eric pointed out as he, Ivana, and his new companion, Alex, approached it. "It won't take us too long to get through it, so we should be in the city within the hour."

"Yeah, and if we keep going, we can make it out of Mt. Coronet before nightfall," Alex added.

(But what about the other pokemon in the tunnel?) Ivana asked nervously. (Won't they try to attack us?) As she spoke, the group entered said tunnel.

Eric looked at the Embrace pokemon walking close by his side. "Relax, Ivana," he reassured her. "It's simple. If we leave THEM alone, they'll leave US alone."

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

[Gaarrdeeeee!] Ivana screamed as a Sonicboom connected with her midsection. She was knocked back a few feet and landed on her side.

"What the fuck?" Eric and Alex shouted in unison. As if sensing the trainers' surprise, a horde of Golbat and Zubat come out from the tunnel ceiling and dove towards the group. Eric and Alex ducked as they missed their intended targets. Eric reached for his belt.

"Matthias! Need some help here!" Eric cried as he threw the Lucario's ball. The Fighting type appeared, illuminating the tunnel slightly for a few seconds.

At the same time, Alex had the same idea. "Alakazam! Let's go!" he shouted, chucking the pokeball. The Psi pokemon began to levitate and focused, readying itself for whatever was about to happen.

"Bone Rush!"

"Psychic!"

Matthias leapt into action, swatting at the bat-like pokemon with a very long, glowing bone, while Alakazam stayed where he was, taking out any Zubat or Golbat that the Lucario missed. Meanwhile, Alex was busy dodging like crazy, occasionally taking a swing at an enemy that he couldn't avoid. Eric darted over to Ivana's side.

"Ivana! Are you alright?" the trainer inquired, his voice split between panic and worry.

(Y-Yes… I'll be fine… Ow… That stings…) she replied, getting to her feet. "Good. Now we need your help," Eric said, pointing at the swarm of attacking Bat pokemon.

Ivana began to glow as she readied a Psychic attack. At the exact same time, the horde seemed to pick up on this and almost all of the remaining Bat pokemon made a beeline for her. And just as they were about to strike her… they stopped. The flock of Zubat, and Golbat were frozen in midair, less than an inch away from Ivana's face.

"That was close…" Eric sighed.

{Master,} Matthias said. {Alakazam and I have taken care of the rest.} "Nice work, Matthias," the teenager praised. They all turned their attention to Ivana who was moving the swarm into a nice ball. Once finished, she sent a sharp ripple of psychic energy through it, knocking out all of the Bat pokemon. She dropped them on the tunnel floor.

(That WAS close… Why did they do that?) Ivana asked. "I don't know… maybe they were hungry?" Alex suggested. "You might be right, Alex," Eric added. "But I would like to know for sure. Ivana? Could you try to find out why they attacked us?" the American champion requested. (I'll try…) The Embrace pokemon touched both hands to the horn on her chest and focused hard on the thoughts of their former assailants.

For what seemed like an eternity, she couldn't sense anything other than the thoughts of her companions. "Are you getting anything?" Eric asked. (No… All I can see are your thoughts. Everything else… It's like there is some sort of barrier preventing me from probing them…)

But then, she saw it. There was one thought, a thought that was shared by a few of the barely conscious Zubat and Golbat.

'Destroy the light… Destroy the light…'

The Gardevoir was perplexed. "Destroy the light?" What was that supposed to mean? (Eric, what do you make of this?) she queried before transmitting the dark thought to her trainer.

"…" Eric was speechless. '"Destroy the light?" What the hell? I wasn't holding a flashlight or anything. And neither was Alex… I think by the "light," they probably mean us, but why?' He thought on it for a while, but eventually gave up. "Sorry, but I can't think of anything." Eric said in a disappointed tone.

"Actually," Alex spoke up. "I have an idea… Why don't we think about this later? I don't know about you, but I don't really feel like being here when they wake up."

"You're right. Let's keep going," Eric said. And with that, the group got moving again, now on guard for any more attacks.

-A Few Hours Later…-

"*Sigh* Does this tunnel ever end?" Eric sighed. They had been traveling for some time now, but should have left Mt. Coronet by now. "Jeez… how much you wanna bet we're lost…"

"As much as I hate to say it, Eric, you're probably right." Alex added. "This is why I hate caves like this," Eric said. "It's easy to get lost and I can't get a connection, so I can't check my map.(1)"

(Wait…) Ivana said suddenly. "Hmm? What is it?" Eric asked. Alex looked at him with a "wtf" face. "Who? Me?"

"No, Ivana." Eric replied, pointing to the Psychic type. (…This place… It feels familiar…)

"It feels familiar? Why wou- …Ohh… right."

(I've been here before… with Miles…) she continued. (I think I know where to go.) "Well, by all means, lead on," her trainer said. Ivana began walking back the way they came, followed by a hopeful Eric and Matthias and a rather confused Alex.

"Hey," Alex started. "Why are we following her? Has she been here before?" "That would be my guess, yeah…" Eric replied. "Ok… That's weird…" the British accented teen continued. "You said you found her out in Eterna Forest, but she's been here before? That doesn't make a lot of sense." "Err… I don't know…" the American champion said. "But, hey. I'm not complaining."

'I should probably keep the situation with Miles a secret if I can…' Eric thought. 'I don't know how he would react, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to find out…'

'Why do I get the feeling that you're hiding something from me…?' Alex wondered. '…You don't sound too sincere saying that…'

Ivana led Eric, Matthias, and Alex into a large open area. There were little puddles that peppered the cave floor with water droplets falling from the stalactites on the ceiling. Ivana walked into the center and paused for a moment, as if trying to remember which way Miles took her last time.

"What's she doing?" Alex asked. "Why is she just standing there?"

"Maybe she's getting her bearings or something? I don't know and, at this point, I don't really care."

(This way, Eric…) Ivana said, walking towards the right side of the "atrium" with Eric and company not far behind. After a good 15 minutes of walking, the cave began to open up again. Up ahead, there was another large "atrium," except that this one was the exit.

"Finally! There's the way out!" Eric shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. "Come on!" The American champion started to run towards the exit, with the others in tow. As they finally left Mt. Coronet, the group quickly realized that they had been in there longer than they thought.

"Great… 8:30… we sure took our sweet time getting out of there…" Alex sighed. Eric approached Ivana and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You did well, Ivana. Thanks," he praised. The Embrace pokemon blushed furiously and turned her head away slightly to hide it. (I-I-I… It was nothing…) she replied while trying to hide the embarrassment in her telepathic voice. Eric then turned his attention to the horizon. He could see some lights shining over the trees in the dark.

"That's Hearthome City, isn't it?" the trainer asked, pointing at the lights. "I think so," Alex answered, taking a few steps forward. "But I don't think we'll be able to reach it until tomorrow." {I believe that Alex is correct,} Matthias chipped in. {If we were to keep going, we could reach the city by morning, but I do not think you want to do that.}

"Yeah, let's just set up camp here…" Eric suggested. "We can head out in the morning."

The group moved off to the side and began setting up tents, gathering firewood, letting their pokemon out of their pokeballs, and the like.

-A Few Minutes Later…-

Eric, Alex, and their pokemon were eating, with each of them doing their own thing. Eric and Alex sat near the campfire, talking.

"…So, then it was down to one pokemon each for both of us, and really, even though I was hiding it, I was panicking a bit," Eric explained. "Well, of course. I would too if I were in that position," Alex replied. "Yeah. Anyways, so Amy had her Gallade and I had Axel as our last pokemon…"

The two trainers went on, telling each other stories, giving tips, and making the occasional joke. Meanwhile, the pokemon were going about their usual "routines."

Ivana lay with her back against a tree (while trying not to scrape her horn on the bark), watching and listening to Eric and Alex talking, with most of her attention going to her trainer.

[Something on your mind, Ivana?]

Ivana turned to see Krystal, sitting on her haunches, her jet black fur shimmering in the firelight.

[Oh… hello…] Ivana replied.

[So you're the new "recruit," huh?]

[I guess so…]

[My name is Krystal. Or at least that's the name Eric gave me. But I like it.]

[Nice to meet you…] Ivana trailed off as her trainer burst out laughing, no doubt because of something Alex did or said.

[So, I'm curious. How did he catch YOU?(2)] the Fox pokemon asked.

[…] Ivana said nothing, being distracted by Eric. […Ivana?] Krystal persisted, poking the Psychic type with her paw.

[Hm? Wha- Oh…]

[How did he catch you?]

[…] She was silent again.

[You like zoning out, do-]

[I… really don't want to talk about it…] Ivana interrupted.

[Oh…] Krystal replied. [Ok. Sorry…]

[No, it's alright…]

"And so the guy picks up a soda can off the ground and chucks it right at his face. Hits him right between the eyes. I shat myself laughing! "

[You haven't taken your eyes off Eric since we set up for the night. Is there something going on here?] Krystal spoke in a serious, yet "suggestive" tone. Ivana's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.

[W-W-W-W-W-W-what?] she stammered, raising her arms to try to hide the furious blush that crept onto her face. [What are you talking about?] The Fire type chuckled a little at her reaction.

[I'm right, aren't I, dear?] Krystal implied.

[Me? Eric? We… nononononono, it's noth-] she started when the shiny pokemon put a paw to Ivana's lips.

[You don't need to try to hide it, Ivana,] Krystal explained. [I can tell by your reaction.]

Ivana let out a sigh of defeat. […Yes… you're right…] she said, hesitantly uncovering her face.

[It's alright, dear. It's nothing to be embarrassed about,] the Fox pokemon reassured in a motherly tone. [But don't worry, I won't tell.]

The Gardevoir smiled a bit. [Yes… It's true… I just can't stop thinking about him…] she admitted, her voice now starting to show that she was getting more comfortable with the conversation. [I think I… I might be attracted to him…]

[See?] Krystal said, a warm smile forming on her muzzle. [That wasn't so hard, now was it?] Ivana unconsciously shook her head, her mind turning back to her trainer.

'There she goes again…' the Fire type thought, lying down and resting her head on her paws.

Little did either of them know that a certain someone was crouching in the tree branches right over their heads.

Eric let out a yawn. "Ugh… I'm getting tired. I'm gonna go turn in for the night."

"Ok, g'night, Eric," Alex said as Eric went into his tent. Then he turned his attention to Tara and his Kirlia, who were playing Tara's favorite game: tag. "You two need to quiet down," he instructed. "Eric's going to sleep." Kirlia seemed to hear him, Tara did not (big surprise).

[Tara, shhhhhhhhhhhhhh…] the Emotion pokemon relayed.

[What? Why?] the young Eevee replied. [What's the matter?]

[Your trainer is going to sleep. Alex says to be quiet.] Tara stopped running. [Oh!] she answered with a quick nod. [Ok.] And then she went right back to running again.

Alex got up and went over to Eric's tent, peering in through one of the mesh "windows" on the side. Inside, Eric was already out like a light. Alex grinned a little.

He walked up to Blaziken. "Come on, Blaziken. Training night." The Blaze pokemon's face lit up and she eagerly followed her trainer. "Machamp, you want to come?" The Superpower pokemon glanced as his trainer and shook his head no. "Alright. Come on Blaziken."

And with that, the two walked away, going into the trees and soon disappearing into the darkness beyond them.

-A Few Minutes Later…-

Everybody had fallen asleep by now (even Kirlia and Tara, who collapsed side-by-side). Everybody except one…

'Why… Why did she have to choose him… I love you… I just wish I could get myself to tell you… But I cannot… I am such a coward… I can fight battles with ease, but I cannot make myself say it… damn it… damn it all…'

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

(1). Read Eric's bio.

(2). Eric hasn't told the other pokemon about Ivana's predicament yet

So there you have it! My first update since May! DAMN it's good to be back!


	12. Chapter 11: Enlightenment

Disclaimer: (Insert statement that says I don't own Pokemon here)

Hello again, everyone. … Yeah… not much to say right now… Enjoy…

" " = Normal Speech

' ' = Thoughts (Humans and pokemon)

[ ] = PokeSpeech (Translated or not)

( ) = Telepathy

{ } = Aura Speech

* * = Sound Effects

- = Scene Breaks

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ = End Chapter

* * *

Chapter 11: Enlightenment

April 21, 2009; 4:59 A.M.

* * *

The sun was just starting to inch its way into the sky, casting a tiny shred of light on the landscape below. The air was cool, the wind was quiet, and the pokemon were asleep in their nests.

At the campsite, the atmosphere wasn't all that different. Alex, Kirlia and Blaziken were asleep in their tent, Alex using Blaziken as a living "pillow" and Kirlia nuzzled up against her trainer's leg. Machamp, Alakazam, and Shedinja were outside, Machamp and Alakazam propped up opposite each other against a tree trunk, and Shedinja eerily levitating above Alex's tent.

Eric was inside his tent, along with Ivana, Krystal, and Tara. Eric was close to the entrance of the tent, Krystal and Tara were happily curled up next to each other, and Ivana had "drifted away," taking up the very back of the large canvas shelter. Outside, Matthias lay flat on his back in the grass, with his blue, furry arms loosely at his side. Axel took up his usual spot in a tree branch, with his arms behind his head and one leg crossed over the other.

"…Ughhhh…" Eric moaned quietly as consciousness returned to him. The teenager slowly opened his brown eyes, taking in the dimly lit interior of his tent. '…For once, I wish a dream would just make sense…' he idly thought, sitting up and looking at his sleeping partners. A soft smile appeared on his face. He checked his watch, having to stare at it for a few seconds before he could make out the hands in the faint light. "5:00… I'm up early…" he muttered almost inaudibly. "Well, since I'm up…"

Eric slowly crawled out of the tent, stood up, and stretched his arms and legs. "Urggghhh… Ahhhhh… that felt good…" he groaned as quietly as he could, reaching for his backpack and pulling out a shirt. The American champion put it on, along with his shoes, and was about to walk away when he stopped.

'Wait a sec… let's think about this, Eric… Do you really want to go without something to defend yourself with?' he mentally asked himself, slipping back to his bag and opening it again. He reached in again, digging through its contents as quietly as he could. He found the handgun quickly, but then remembered his encounter with Miles, and how he emptied the entire clip into the guy.

"Where's that switchblade…?" he murmured, putting the firearm back in the bag. After a few more seconds, his hand touched the knife's handle. "There you are. Ok, NOW I can go…"

And with that he crept away from the campsite. Once he was far enough away, he started jogging. Eric liked to do this on occasion; early morning, when his brain was quiet and so was everybody else, when he could feel the cool morning air on his face as he ran. It was the perfect time to just be alone with his thoughts.

'Hearthome City…' the teenager thought as he trotted through the foliage. 'The site of my next gym battle… I wonder what kind of pokemon they use…' His thoughts switched to the "incident" in Mt. Coronet that had happened yesterday.

'According to Ivana, those Golbat and Zubat were all thinking the same thing: "Must destroy the light…" …Wait a minute… something just occurred to me… Two days ago, when I met with Cresselia… when she disappeared, she left that orb behind. And when I touched it, I absorbed it… maybe that was some kind of power transfer or something? Is that why they attacked us?'

{…I'm afraid there is more to it than just that, Eric…} he felt a strangely familiar voice resonate within his heart.

"Well, speak of the devil…" he muttered, turning around to find none other than Cresselia, floating peacefully behind him. "It's you again…"

{…Yes… Those Golbat and Zubat were not attacking you because you disturbed them. They were being controlled. Possessed, if you prefer,} she explained.

"By what?" Eric asked, crossing his arms.

{Darkrai… He is able to use his dark powers to take control of both humans and pokemon… I believe you have already had an encounter with a victim of his influence.}

Eric looked at the Lunar pokemon skeptically. "What do you mean?"

{It was when you had entered the city and were being pursued by another human…}

The American champion closed his eyes in deep thought. 'Another human… I feel like I should really know this already… Wait a minute…' "Miles?" he exclaimed. Cresselia nodded in reply. {Yes. The one you know as Miles is under his influence.}

"How did he do it? I'm curious."

{There are a number of ways that Darkrai forces his will upon his victims,} Cresselia explained. {In this case, he disguised himself as another human, wearing a black, hooded cloak. Darkrai must have imbued Miles by disguising it as an "injection," as you humans would call it. I know this because, for reasons unknown, it is his favorite method.}

"… Oh fuck…" he said absently as realization dawned upon him.

{There is something else that you must know Eric…} the Lunar pokemon said, closing her eyes. {…You… are a carrier of Darkrai's power… he attempted to possess you as well… 7 years ago…}

The trainer's eyes were dinner plates. "You CAN'T be serious!" he shouted in disbelief before pacing back and forth nervously in front of Cresselia.

{Calm yourself… you do not need to worry…} she reassured the now panicking teenager. [He did indeed attempt to take control of you… but this can not harm you now.}

"…W-W-What do you mean...?" Eric stuttered, still trying to come to terms with what he was hearing.

{You do indeed have the darkness inside you. However, your strong Aura and my assistance have rendered it harmless to you. In fact, you could very well use it to your advantage.}

"Use it to my advantage? How do you mean?" the teenager inquired, his voice a blend of skepticism, confusion, and curiosity.

{The orb that you absorbed after our first meeting. It was a transfer of energy,} Cresselia said plainly. {I gave you power, or rather, the ability to use and control the power you already have.}

Eric looked at his palms in the low light. "Power I already have…" he repeated. "How do I use it? Can you teach me?" Eric asked, his voice now full of interest. The Lunar pokemon shook her head.

{I can tell you, but you must discover how to fully wield your Aura on your own.}

Eric's head drooped a little. 'Should've known. It's NEVER that easy…'

{Focus… Focus is key…} she said. {You must learn to shut out everything in order to use your power…}

'…Cliché much?' Eric thought. "So by learning to focus… I can use my Aura?"

{Correct,} Cresselia answered. Then, her head "twitched" slightly and she closed her eyes. {… My master is in need of me… I must go…} she declared.

"…" Eric was silent as he watched the swan-like creature rise up into the air and then disappear.

He glanced down at his hands again. "Learn to focus, huh?" he muttered. The American champion looked around for anyone watching. "Might as well give it a try…"

He figured he would try to focus his "power" into his arm, since that was the first thing that came to mind. Eric closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. For what seemed like an eternity, there was nothing.

'Come on, come on…' he thought. The trainer opened his eyes again. "I guess I shouldn't expect it to be easy…" Eric closed his eyes and tried again, this time trying not to think.

A few minutes later and still nothing. "Gonna keep going until I at least feel SOMETHING…" he told himself. And so he did…

-Some time later…-

The sun rose higher over the trees, shedding more light on the terrain below it. And yet, not much had changed.

"Ok, I think I've almost got it down…" Eric muttered. The American champion was still there in the forest, trying over and over again to do what Cresselia had told him. He extended his arm in front of him. "Alright, I'll give it one last shot for now…"

Eric closed his eyes and focused on whatever it was inside him that was supposed to give him power. His breathing was quiet, his mind was clear, it HAD to work…

…

He stayed like this for minutes that seemed like hours. Even though his mind was clear, he still subconsciously knew that nothing was happening…

…Then… he felt something… it wasn't big… it wasn't strong… but it was something… and something was better than nothing. Eric suppressed his urge to break concentration and kept on it. He KNEW he was on to something here…

Another feeling… this one stronger and more recognizable… he really felt this one… it felt as though something was slowly materializing inside of him. But he pressed on.

His subconsciousness was screaming at him to stop, to fully acknowledge the sensation that he was getting… and it was starting to get through…

Eric kept going as he felt an even stronger surge, enormously stronger than before… he sensed it moving into his arm… through to his hand… and spreading to his fingers… it felt like his arm was being charged with energy. His eyes involuntarily shut tighter, he grit his teeth, his facial expression becoming a painful one. But he felt no pain, only a strange pleasure.

Unbeknownst to him(1), his right arm began to glow slightly… then brighter… and brighter… and then… a small orb formed that floated just above his palm… the orb seemed to be made of pure light. Eric concentrated harder in an attempt to block out his nagging instincts. The orb started growing slightly, the light becoming ever brighter as it did so.

But then, the orb stopped growing, and tendrils of darkness appeared. They began to swirl around the levitating orb, contrasting with the light it was made of. And yet, at the same time, the light seemed to harmonize with the darkness in such a way that Eric could actually feel the power intensifying.

The strange ball sank a bit to rest on Eric's palm. It started to shift, taking on a new shape. Then Eric felt a weight on his hand, which startled him and broke the concentration. All of the light, the power, the weight upon his hand; it all vanished instantly.

"…Damn it… I had something… I really did…" he said. The American champion glanced around, then down at his watch. "It's 6:32…" Eric said to himself. "I better head back; I've been gone long enough as it is…" The trainer looked around, trying to find patches of flattened grass. After about a minute, he found a trail of them and started following them.

'That… was strange, to say the least…' Eric thought as he walked, remembering what he had gone through this morning so far. 'Cresselia says Darkrai tried to possess me 7 years ago, and disguised himself as a guy with a black, hooded cloak… I think this is starting to make sense…'

'But that feeling of power… it felt great… is that the Aura Cresselia was talking about? … And that weight… what was that? It was kinda heavy… what was it?' Eric took at his watch. "Hmmmm… I think I'll give it another shot tonight, when everyone's asleep," he said to himself.

{Give what another shot?} another voice said questioningly. Eric stopped dead in his tracks as none other than Matthias emerged from the shadow of the trees in front of him. "M-Matthias?" Eric cried out in surprise. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

{I sensed an immense fluctuation of Aura energy nearby,} the Lucario replied. {I was curious and when I saw that you were not at the campsite either, I came to investigate.}

'I don't think I want to drag Matthias into this…He's like a brother to me… I don't want to put him in needless danger…'

"Ok then…" Eric replied nervously, his expression and voice not doing a very good job of hiding it. "It was nothing… Come on, let's go back…"

{Master…} the Aura pokemon said, coming closer, and his serious crimson eyes looking into those of his trainer. {You can stop. I have said it before, and I will say it again: You are a horrible liar.}

The American champion's head drooped and he let out a sigh of defeat. "…Alright, ya got me… I lied…"

{So what are you out here for?}

"Well, I WAS just going for a jog. You know how I do that sometimes. But let's just say I got a bit… sidetracked…"

The Fighting/Steel type crossed his arms, being mindful of his paw spikes. {And what was it that sidetracked you? Tell me.}

'… He's not gonna give me much of a choice here, is he?'

"Fine… I'll tell you… under one condition. I don't want you to tell any of the others unless ABSOLUTLY NECESSARY," the trainer conceded, stressing the last couple of words.

{But why? What is it?}

"Knowing them, Krystal would act like a mother Ursaring around her young, Axel would be itching for a fight even MORE than usual (if that's even possible), Tara would be just aware enough for it to be a problem, and Ivana would probably have a panic attack or something," Eric ranted, his voice gaining volume as he went down the "list." "As for Alex and HIS pokemon, I don't know them well enough, but I don't want to take any chances…"

Matthias bowed his head in thought. He knew that Eric was right about the others' reactions, but was still unsure. Eventually, however, he decided to agree. If anything, his curiosity would at least be satisfied.

{Very well,} Matthias replied, putting his right paw over where his heart was. {You have my word, master.}

"Thanks, Matthias…" Eric praised. He then proceeded to relate everything that had happened between him and Cresselia, about what she had told him about his "role," about Darkrai, and about Eric's power.

"… You don't seem overwhelmed at all, Matthias," Eric observed, looking at the Lucario's expression. Matthias shook his head. {I still am, although not by much,} he answered. {I have known your Aura was strong, and I knew you had the power to use it. And this fluctuation… that was you?}

"I think so, yeah…"

{…Do you think you could show me?} the Aura pokemon requested.

"…Sure, why not…" the teen replied, assuming the same position as he had just moments ago. "Here goes…" Eric began to focus hard, trying both to repeat and surpass what he had accomplished earlier. He cleared his mind of all the random, idle thoughts he often had.

…And within seconds, he felt it again… the power… Matthias could feel it as well.

The power grew, and his arm began to shine once more. It worked its way down his arm and into his hand, spreading out through his fingers. Then, the orb reappeared… growing as the dark strands mixed with it.

Matthias looked on in amazement; never in all his life did he think such strength was possible, and yet his own master was showing it right in front of him. He stared at the strange orb hovering in Eric's hand, watching the tendrils of darkness swirling around it, in an odd, but harmonious manner.

The orb started to lower onto Eric's hand again, and gradually began to take shape. Once more, the trainer felt a mass upon his hand. Eric strained himself not to lose his focus this time; he knew he had something, and he'd be damned if he fucked it up this time! The light and darkness shifted around randomly, almost as if they were dancing, as the shape became clearer. It was long, and getting longer, and somewhat thin, but getting slightly thicker around Eric's hand, then getting slimmer as it grew away from it. There was also an even broader part near Eric's thumb that seemed to stretch from his wrist to a point just past his index finger.

The American champion gritted his teeth subconsciously; he was starting to lose it, and his nagging curiosity was screeching at him to break his focus and open his eyes to see just what was going on.

The shape in his hand stopped growing all of a sudden, and the mix of light and dark began to fade, bit by bit.

…But then, it vanished, just faded away into nothingness. Eric opened his eyes, and gave a somewhat annoyed sigh.

"…Damn it! ALMOST had it…" he cursed.

Matthias, on the other hand, looked quite impressed. {That was incredible, master!}

Eric looked at him skeptically. "Really?"

{Yes. The power I felt radiating from you… I cannot find words to describe it…}

The trainer grinned a little. "Cool," he said simply. "Now come on, Matthias. Let's head back to camp before everyone wakes up and notices we're gone." And with that, the two started walking, both still trying to fully grasp what had just happened.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

1. He can't see through closed eyelids. Even with the light coming from the orb, he couldn't tell that it was there.

A/N: So there you have it! I really enjoyed finishing this one; I remember replaying the scenario over and over in my head, trying to get it just right. And I think I finally got it here.


	13. Chapter 12: Poor Girl

Disclaimer: You know by now what goes here. If you don't, then go back and look at the other 12 chapters (if you include the Prologue, otherwise its 11).

Hello there, readers! Sorry if this took long; had a bit of a setback. My flash drive got lost and/or stolen and I forgot to backup my files, so I had to go back and retype EVERYTHING. And I do mean EVERYTHING. But I got a new one, so I'm back in business. Yay!

Normal Speech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

PokeSpeech (Translated or not) = [ ]

Telepathy = ( )

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 12: Poor Girl

April 21, 2009; 5:55 A.M.

Matthias and Eric reached the camp after a short while and, to their relief, everyone was still asleep. Matthias silently gestured that he was going to go back to sleep and took up his old spot in the grass.

But Eric was wide awake now. So much had happened this morning… and it was still early sunrise.

He let out a deep sigh and snuck over to his bag. The trainer opened one of the pouches, and pulled out his laptop as quietly as he could. Once he had the small computer in his hands, he crept over to a nearby tree and sat down against it. He powered it on and entered his password.

'Jeez… I never would've thought so much could happen in so little time… And to ME of all people…' he thought as his laptop rejected the password and had to re-enter it. 'My Aura… it's supposed to be the strongest? Even Matthias agrees… But then again, he IS a Lucario, so it's only natural…'

After a few attempts, it finally accepted his password and Eric was greeted by his desktop wallpaper. It was a picture of himself, Matthias, Axel, Krystal, and Tara in front of a charter bus after qualifying for a slot in the US Pokemon Championship. Everybody looked like they had just won the lottery. Even Axel, the stone-face that he was, had a huge grin plastered on his face.

The teenager stared at the photo for a little while, remembering that fond moment. Then he opened the menu and started going through his files. 'Hmmm… I wonder if I could do that without waking anybody up…' he thought. '… I'm long overdue for one, anyways… But on the other hand, I don't want to take that chance. People won't be able to hear me whispering… Meh… screw it, I'll do it later…' He sighed and put his laptop into sleep mode before walking back to his bag and slipping it inside.

[…*Moan*…]

Eric turned around as he heard a noise. 'Was that…?' Then there was a dim flash that came from the other side of Eric's tent. The American champion warily stood, unsure what was going on, but not wanting to put anything to chance.

[…Gaaaardee…]

'Wait a sec… that's Ivana!'

And indeed it was; the Embrace pokemon slowly came into view, with her head drooped, her green arms loosely hanging at her sides, and her eyes closed.

'…Ivana sleepwalks?' Eric thought as he watched the Psychic type. '…She can teleport in her sleep, too?'

[Garrdeevooiir…] she moaned in a tone that suggested that she was in pain. Her face seemed to become more troubled every time she let out a moan. Then her slow walk became an unsteady "limp."

Eric observed his pokemon closely, trying to figure out what she was dreaming about, and also wondering whether or not he should wake her.

…Then, the Gardevoir fell to her knees, clutching the sides of her head tightly (1), and began to cry.

[Garrde… Gardeeeeevoirrrrr…] she moaned again, her voice fearful and weak. [Garrrdeevoir…]

'…Aaaaand she's having a nightmare… greeeaaat…' Eric thought.

Almost as if responding to her trainer's thoughts, her convulsions became more violent. Her voice steadily gained volume, her moans and groans becoming louder by the minute.

Eric took a cautious step forward towards the suffering pokemon.

'That must be one hell of a nightmare…' he thought. 'That's it, I'm waking her up; I can't stand seeing her in so much pain…' His expression turned from worry to determination. 'Alright… here goes nothing…'

The trainer approached Ivana as quietly as he could; even with her noise, Eric didn't feel like having a repeat of his first day with Ivana.

As the American champion drew nearer, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the Embrace pokemon. As far as he knew, she hadn't done anything wrong. And yet she endured Miles' abuse for Arceus knows how long. And even now, it still haunted her.

When he drew close, he knelt down at her side and gently placed his hand on her torso horn. 'Ivana… wake up…' he thought, knowing that by touching her horn, his mind would link to hers and she would (hopefully) acknowledge it. 'It's alright, Ivana. I'm here… Wake up…' Eric began to softly stroke her back in an effort to comfort the agonized Psychic type further, if at all.

'Ivana… It's me… Eric… You're safe… It's alright… I'm here… Wake up, Ivana…'

It didn't seem to work very well, and, in fact, may have made it worse. She began rolling around until she was on her back. Now he could see her face. It was very tense; her teeth were gritted, and her eyes were shut tight, despite the stream of tears that continued to flow. Her hands were still gripping the sides of her head, and now her legs were kicking wildly, making her "gown" flail around, eventually making it look like a cheap umbrella after a few minutes in a high-speed wind tunnel.

'Ivana… It's Eric… Ivana… It's just a nightmare…'

[Gaaaaarrdeevoooir… Garrde…] Ivana whimpered, her voice a lot quieter all of a sudden.

'You're having a nightmare, Ivana,' Eric thought, trying to wake her. 'You need to wake up.'

[Gardee… gardee…] she panted, her voice now much lower, almost a whisper, and her breathing heavy. Her body began to loosen up, made apparent by her grip on her head slackening.

'Ivana, wake up.'

[…Garde…?] the Gardevoir moaned somewhat anxiously. Her eyes slowly opened, finally free of her nightmare. She expected to see images that stuck from the hell she had just gone through.

But no. The first thing she saw was her trainer, looking down at her with a look of concern on his face. She relaxed slightly, and opened her tear-soaked eyes fully. (E-Eric?)

"That's me," Eric replied with a satisfied grin, extending a hand to help her up. "You alright?"

(…) She said nothing, but grabbed her trainer's hand. Once they were both on their feet, Ivana hugged him, burying her head in his shoulder as she started to weep again.

(It was horrible…) she said in a monotonous voice, clearly showing her trauma over the whole thing.

(It was… And he… but I…) the Psychic type struggled to find the words to describe what she had just re-seen.

But Eric put his hand on the back of her head and spoke. "You don't need to tell me, Ivana," he said. "I already have a pretty good idea what it was, anyways."

Ivana looked up from her master's shoulder, and then… she suddenly pressed her forehead to his. Almost instantly, a flood of images invaded Eric's mind all at once, along with plenty of sounds to accompany them.

He could pick out individual ones, but he mostly didn't need to. The quick flashes that he DID see, coupled with the background noises of Ivana screaming, made it easy to see that she was in pain. There were also patches of male laughter, which he took to belong to Miles.

After meeting Miles and learning what had happened, none of it really surprised him…

But then… he caught a glimpse of something… something rather disturbing. Miles… Ivana… doing the unthinkable…

Eric suddenly pulled away. "I can't take any more…" he said, then realizing that he was out of breath and sweating. "That… that's messed up… in so many ways…"Ivana bowed her head shamefully.

(I…) the Gardevoir started. (I… I'm… sorry you had to see that…) She looked back up at Eric, her crimson eyes sorrowful and tear-ridden. (I couldn't stop myself… I wanted to show you but… I didn't want you to see it like this…)

The teenager shook his head, partly to get his mind back on track and partly to say "no."

"Ivana… As much as I hated seeing that… I'm glad you showed me," Eric replied in a serious tone. "This is what he did to you, then?" The Embrace pokemon nodded.

"…I'm sorry, Ivana…" he apologized, pulling her into a hug. "But don't worry. If he EVER wants to get to you, he'll have to go through ME first!" His voice became more violent at the end of his sentence.

(But that's what I'm afraid of… I don't want to see you in danger…) Ivana sobbed. (…He'd do anything to get to me… even if it meant killing you…)

"I know… but that doesn't change the fact that I would guard you with my life, like I would with any of the others," the teenager whispered. "We're a team, we stand up for each other."

(…) Ivana was at a loss for words yet again. But she wiped her tears away and a smile appeared on her lips.

(Eric…I… I… Thank you…) she stammered nervously. Eric chuckled a little. "Think nothing of it, Ivana," he answered, lightly patting her shoulder a couple times.

"Now come on," the trainer said, checking his watch. "Let's start getting breakfast ready. The others will probably be waking up soon."

{Need some help?} A familiar voice spoke quietly. Eric and Ivana glanced over to see Matthias standing a few feet away from them.

"Sure thing, Matthias. Just try to keep it down." The Lucario nodded. "Ok, you can come along, Matthias. Ivana, stay here and keep an eye on things. We won't be gone long."

The Psychic type nodded faithfully. "Thanks, Ivana," Eric praised, rubbing his hand through Ivana's green hair. He then turned around and went into the brush with Matthias in tow.

Eric waited until they were away from the camp before speaking.

"You heard everything, didn't you, Matthias?" he asked.

{How could I possibly NOT hear it?} the canine-like pokemon replied. {She was screaming.}

"Good point."

{So… What was it?}

Eric looked at Matthias with a confused expression. "What was what?"

{What did she show you that was so "messed up?"} the Fighting/Steel type asked, doing the air-quotes with his paws.

"… Miles raped Ivana…"

{… The poor thing…} Matthias said solemnly, his expression showing his sympathy for her.

"I know… all the more reason to protect her," Eric replied, subconsciously clenching his fists. "I swear to Arceus, possessed or not, that bastard is going to pay dearly for what he's done…"

Matthias replied with a nod and grunt.

"But enough of that," the American champion said randomly, breaking the atmosphere. "Come on, let's go find some more berries."

{Right.}

And with that, the two started scouting for berry bushes as the sun began to rise over the treetops.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

(1). If you're having trouble picturing this, think "MINDFUCK TO THE EXTREME!"

A/N: So yeah, short chapter, but with quite a bit of activity. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it! Remember to leave a review, and au revior to you all!


	14. Chapter 13: Your Eternal Reward

Disclaimer: … Do I really need to explain myself here?

Chapter 13… the unlucky number… YEAH RIGHT!

This chapter turned out to be rather long… but for this chapter, it seems rather necessary… Chapters that include battles seem to drag on when I write them, but I do it intentionally to include as much detail as I can without overdoing it.

Enjoy!

Normal Speech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

PokeSpeech (Translated or not) = [ ]

Telepathy = ( )

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 13: Your Eternal Reward

April 21, 2009; 7:23 A.M.

"Alright, let's go."

It had been roughly 90 minutes since Ivana's little "episode" (which, to Eric's delight, nobody seemed to notice, as evidenced by Alex not bringing it up). Since then, everybody had woken up, eaten, packed up, and hit the road. The group walked down the route that they knew would take them to Hearthome City. Eric and Alex decided to keep their pokemon out, to let them get a little exercise.

"So you're trying to get all the badges for the Sinnoh region?"

"Yep," Eric answered, turning to Alex. "I've already got the first two, and I'll be getting my third in Hearthome."

"Heh," Alex chuckled. "I've already got all the badges here."

"You do?"

"Yeah. But I haven't challenged the Elite Four here. I just don't feel like risking it. Now… if I remember correctly the next gym has-"

"No no no! Don't say it!" the American champion interrupted. "I want to find out for myself. Otherwise, it won't be as fun."

Alex shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'll just say this: I found the next gym to be rather… annoying." Eric had tuned out to avoid hearing him though. He was good, but he always liked a challenge. To him, a challenge meant not knowing what he was up against. It helped to keep things fresh, keep things interesting.

{Master, I see the city,} Matthias chipped in, pointing ahead. And indeed, Hearthome City was right in front of them, in all its glory.

"Finally," Eric muttered to himself. Even though it hadn't THAT long (not counting the week he spent in a coma), it felt like eternity. "Come on, guys! Let's go! Race ya!" the trainer declared, starting to run ahead and gesturing for everyone else to do the same.

"Eric!" Alex called after the American, after scooping up his Kirlia in his arms. "Wait up!" And with that, he began to chase Eric, with both their pokemon close behind.

-Several Minutes Later…-

"Made it! I win!"

"Well, no shit! You had a head start!"

The "race" ended after they entered the city itself and were now on the beginnings of the city streets.

"Excuses excuses. You were slow!" Eric argued proudly, his breathing moderately heavy (1).

"Suuuure… whatever…" Alex panted in response.

"Now…" the American champion said, looking around as they walked. "Where's the gym?"

"It's near the contest hall if I remember correctly…"

"Contest hall?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, it's where they hold Pokemon contests," Alex replied, giving Eric a weird look. "You didn't know?"

"Nope," the trainer replied bluntly. "Why? Should I have?"

"I guess so. It's basically a bunch of trainers, or "coordinators" as they like to be called, trying to show off their pokemon in very flashy ways."

"Hmmm… Nah, we don't have anything like THAT stateside… The closest things I can think of are beauty contests, and those are for humans."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"…"

"Look, there's the Pokemon Center," Eric said, pointing at the red-roofed building. It looked rather ordinary, nothing special here, unless you counted what looked like a battleground just outside. And from the looks of it, said battleground was currently being used.

"Oh hey, there's a battle going on over there," the American champion indicated, returning all his pokemon (except Ivana, of course) to their pokeballs. "I'm gonna go watch. Come on, Ivana." The Gardevoir simply nodded and followed her trainer.

When the two reached the side of the field, they were greeted by the sight of a Pikachu facing off against a Drifblim. The Pikachu's trainer was a boy, who looked about 12 or 13, wearing blue cargo pants, a black vest with a yellow stripe across his chest over a white t-shirt, black fingerless gloves, and a red and black cap with a pokeball emblem on the front.

Across from him was a woman, dressed in a long purple dress with a yellow "X" on the right hip. Seeing the "X" made him involuntarily start playing with the gold X necklace he was wearing. She also wore white lace gloves that went up to her elbows. And her purple hair that jutted out in four different directions… all Eric could think was: '…What the fuck?'

"Drifblim, use Hypnosis!" the woman ordered in a heavy French accent. The large Ghost/Flying type got close to the Pikachu and used its move at near point-blank. The Electric type stood for a few seconds before he collapsed and fell asleep.

"Huh, looks like she won…" Eric said to himself.

The boy looked downcast while the woman thanked him for the battle. Eric watched and listened to their conversation. Sure, he knew eavesdropping was rude, but he didn't really care, either. Then the lady in purple walked off, leaving the boy and 3 others, who Eric had just now noticed, alone.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Alex asked, walking up beside Eric.

"From the looks of things, not much," the American champion replied, crossing his arms.

"…That was the gym leader, actually," Alex remarked in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Who? The lady in the dress?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"… Ok then. But for now, I say we just go inside and check our pokemon in," Eric suggested.

"Sure."

With that, the group crossed the field. They noticed the boy and the 3 others walking in front of them, apparently oblivious to their presence. They were two guys, two girls.

The first male was the boy from earlier, not much to see here. Though now, judging by the yellow bolt-shaped tail hanging off his arm, he was carrying his now sleeping Pikachu.

The other male was taller than the first boy, with spiky brown hair, darker skin, a green t-shirt under an orange and black vest, and a pair of "swamp green (2)" pants. Maybe a bit older, too?

Even though Eric could only see her back, he could already figure out plenty about the first girl. She looked about ten, with a white hat, blue hair to around her shoulders, a red scarf, a black dress that went pink at the bottom, and pink boots with black socks. There was also a Piplup walking next to her feet.

The other one looked a bit older. She had reddish-orange hair, an orange jacket over a dark red long-sleeved shirt, and blue jeans.

Eric could hear them talking about something, but he wasn't close enough to actually understand most of what they were saying.

Eric, Alex, and their pokemon followed them to the Pokemon Center; just far enough off as to not catch their attention. When they walked in, the Center's main lobby was just about empty, save for the four kids and the always-familiar nurse.

'What the hell is with these fucking nurses? They all look the same!' Eric speculated upon seeing the nurse. 'Wanna hear a prediction? Her name is gonna be Joy. Watch.'

Eric walked towards the counter, returning everyone but Ivana to their respective pokeballs and heard Alex doing the same with all of his.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked with a very familiar looking smile.

"Uh, yeah. Could you check up on my pokemon?" Eric replied, then pointing to Alex. "His, too?"

"Sure thing, just return your Gardevoir to its ball and I can take it, too." Eric looked at Ivana, setting the pokeballs on the counter and grabbing Ivana's of his belt.

"I know you hate these things, but you'll only be in here for like… five minutes, not even."

The Embrace pokemon nodded. (As you wish…) she conceded before being drawn into the red and white sphere. Then Eric placed it on the counter with the others as his British-accented companion put his on the counter as well.

"Give me a moment," the pink-haired nurse said, picking them up and placing them on 2 machines; Eric's on one, Alex's on the other. The capsules began to flash as the machines scanned them, checking on the pokemons' vitals, health level, fatigue, and many other things.

A moment later, they both made a *ding*.

"Finished!" the nurse declared, picking up the pokeballs with a tray that was apparently built into the machines. "All of them are in perfect health."

"Ok, cool," Eric replied, taking the balls from his tray and re-releasing Ivana, obviously elated to be outside again.

He and Alex turned around and began to walk away when…

"GAH!" Eric exclaimed suddenly before falling flat on his face. Everybody (being those kids and the nurse) turned to face him, some trying to stifle laughter. Even Ivana giggled a little.

"What the… what the frick did I just trip over?" Eric rolled over and sat up. He saw an orange tail, no, make that two orange tails, sticking out where he tripped.

[Bu Bui!]

Apparently those tails belonged to one very angry Buizel.

"Buizel, what's wrong?" asked that boy, who was now surrounded by his pokemon; Pikachu, Chimchar, Staravia, Gliscor, and Turtwig.

[Bu bui bui bui buuuii!] the Water type ranted, trying to show with body language what happened and, if Eric was interpreting it correctly, how it wanted revenge for him stepping on one of its tails.

"Look, little guy, it was an accid-" Eric tried to apologize before being stopped in mid-sentence by a hard stream of water to his face.

"Buizel, cut it out!"

The Buizel reluctantly stopped soaking Eric and crossed its arms.

"Sorry about that," the kid apologized.

"Nah, it's alright," Eric said through his teeth, obviously unhappy, but trying to hide it. "I DID step on his tail."

"Yeah. By the way, my name's Ash. What's yours?" he asked.

"I'm Eric," the American champion replied. "And this is Ivana."

Three others walked up behind Eric as he introduced himself.

"Everything sorted out?" the taller male inquired.

"Yep," Ash confirmed, not seeming to notice his Pikachu leaping up onto his shoulder. "This is Eric."

"Hey."

"Hi Eric. My name's Zoey," the older girl said.

"I'm Dawn," the noob (3) said. "And this is Piplup."

[Piplup piiiiplup,] it declared proudly, putting a flipper on its chest.

"And I'm Brock, nice to meet you," the older guy finished. When Eric saw his face, he found himself straining not to burst out laughing at his squinty eyes. Brock leaned in, as if examining Eric's face.

"Hmmmmm… you look familiar…" he stated, trying to remember where he had supposedly seen Eric before. "…AHA! I KNOW YOU!"

'… Oh Arceus, here it comes…' Eric thought, rolling his eyes.

"You're Eric Lombardi!"

"You know him?" Dawn asked.

"Eric Lombardi, the U.S.A. Pokemon Battle Champion. I may be a breeder, but I look up to you in a huge way! I've watched all of your videos!"

"The champion?" Ash chimed in.

"Yeah yeah yeah, keep it down will ya?" Eric cut in, his voice low and somewhat quiet. "I don't want to be swarmed by the media. They don't know I'm here and I'd rather keep it that way."

"Oh, ok," they all said.

Alex just watched the whole conversation unfolding from the sidelines. '… Oi vey…'

Eric slowly turned to look at Ash, who was staring at him intently. He looked at the kid's eyes, and almost immediately recognizing the look in them.

"You want to battle now, don't you Ash?" Eric queried with a sigh.

"Yeah!"

[Pika!]

"Hey, no fair, Ash!" Dawn argued. "You got to battle Fantina! It's my turn!"

"Relax, you two," the teen reassured the two. "I can take you both on." Ash and Dawn looked at each other, then back to Eric.

"Awesome!" they both exclaimed simultaneously. Zoey started to laugh a little.

"I would love to come and watch, but I've got to get going," she said.

"You guys can say your goodbyes," Eric stated, beginning to walk towards the door with Ivana close behind. "I'll meet you two there."

better shut those two up…"

-A Few Moments Later…-

Eric stood at the edge of that same battleground, impatiently waiting for Ash, Dawn, and Brock to show up. Ivana was close at his side, with her green hand behind her back.

She then tapped Eric on the shoulder. (Here they come…) she said, her telepathic voice almost a whisper.

"Hm, took 'em long enough…" Eric said to himself as they came into view. "There you are!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, we saw Zoey out," Brock answered. The American champion shrugged and watched as Ash and Dawn took up a place in the trainer box on the other side, while Brock went to the side of the field.

"Alright, you two," Eric called out. "Since you challenged me, I'll make the rules. This'll be a double battle, you two versus me. You'll send out one pokemon each, I'll send out two. The battle ends when both of either side's pokemon can't go on. No time limit, no subs, no items. Sound good?"

"Yeah!" Ash and Dawn shouted back.

"In that case, send out your pokemon!"

"Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash shouted, pointing out at the field and his Pikachu running out.

"Piplup! Spotlight!" Dawn exclaimed with equal enthusiasm, the blue Water type taking its place next to Pikachu.

Not even two seconds later, the pokemon were out, letting out cries of their names as they readied themselves.

'A Piplup and a Pikachu…' Eric thought, running his hand along his pokeball belt and taking a glance at Ivana. 'I think I'll just toy with these two… Krystal and Tara could use some action anyways…'

And with that, he removed Krystal and Tara's pokeballs from his belt.

"Krystal! Tara! Let's go!" he yelled, throwing the red and white spheres onto the battleground. As they materialized, Tara and Krystal looked at each other. And as usual, Tara was overjoyed, starting to run circles around her supposed mother (4). Then she noticed the two other pokemon opposite from her and quickly figured out what was going on.

Eric noticed Dawn producing a pink Pokedex, one that looked nothing like his, and pointing it at Krystal, a look of amazement on her face. 'Oh yeah, that settles it. Dawn, you are now officially on my noob list,' he thought. "Even if Krystal IS shiny, it's nothing to get worked up about.'

("Noob?") Ivana inquired, nearly making her trainer jump.

'It's a name I give to new trainers…' the teen answered.

"Are you already?" Brock called.

"Ready!" Ash and Dawn replied in unison once again. Eric simply nodded at the squinty-eyed male.

"Then let the battle begin!"

"You two can do the honors," Eric said calmly, his voice just loud enough for his opponents to hear.

"Right!" he heard Ash answer. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Ninetales!"

"Piplup, use Bubblebeam on that Eevee!"

Eric watched as the Mouse pokemon charged and fired a bolt at Krystal, and Piplup launched a volley of bubbles from its mouth, aimed at Tara.

"Dodge it!" Eric ordered.

The Evolution pokemon easily sidestepped the Bubblebeam, even stopping to taunt her attacker. Krystal, however, attempted to dodge; only to be struck on one of her black-furred tails. She gave a yelp as it hit her, her body now surging with the unwelcome electricity.

"Krystal!" the American champion cried. "Are you alright?" She responded by regaining her footing and shaking her head.

'Damn it! That's one hell of a Thunderbolt… So much for toying with them… Gotta take 'em down and do it fast!'

"Tara, Quick Attack on Pikachu! Krystal, Dark Pulse on Piplup!"

Almost instantly, Tara darted towards the yellow Electric Type, a white streak in her wake. At the same time, Krystal fell completely still, readying her attack. Because of her black fur, Piplup had next to no idea what she was doing.

"Dodge it and use Iron Tail!" Ash shouted, adopting an overly-dramatic pose. Pikachu didn't waste any time, jumping out of the way as Tara shot past him. He then began to chase her, with his lightning bolt shaped tail glowing white.

Meanwhile, Krystal projected a stream of black rings at the Penguin pokemon. And, just as Eric expected, neither Dawn nor Piplup realized what was going on until it was too late. The attack hit Piplup at full force, throwing it across the field. During its "flight," it narrowly missed hitting Pikachu who was STILL chasing Tara around, and then landed at Dawn's feet.

"Piplup, are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down. The Water pokemon almost instantly jumped back up and ran back out… only to collapse 5 steps later, unconscious.

Eric noticed Dawn's disappointed expression, and wasn't sure whether to be amused or feel sorry for her. But then he turned his attention back to Tara, who now seemed to think this was a game. The Eevee was really giving Pikachu a run for his money.

[Come back here!] Pikachu yelled as it chased Tara, who keeps looking back at him, taunting him like a little kid playing tag.

[You have to catch me first!]

"Pikachu, use Volt Tackle on Ninetales!" the boy shouted. Pikachu immediately changed direction, charging at the Fire pokemon as a veil of electricity surrounded him.

"Krystal, Overheat!"

She formed a large orb of heat in her mouth and fired at the enshrouded Pikachu. But it didn't have any effect; the attack merely bounced off of the electricity and disappeared. The Mouse pokemon's move connected with Krystal's front, pushing her back towards Eric.

"Krystal!" the concerned trainer yelled. She was breathing heavily, her black fur crackling with leftover charge. [Niiii…nine…] she sighed before her legs failed her. She fell on her side and blacked out.

Eric took her pokeball from his belt and pointed at his fallen comrade. "Come back, Krystal," he said as she was engulfed in the red beam and was sucked inside. "Get some rest." Eric glanced up at the scene before him. Dawn was commenting on Pikachu's attack, Tara had returned to Eric's side of the field, the Pikachu stood on his hind paws in front of Ash, and Brock just watched from the sidelines with intrigue.

'So now it's just one-on-one…' Eric thought. '… Tara, if there were ever a time to prove yourself… this is it…'

"You're doing pretty well, Ash," the American champion called out. "But we're not out of this yet! Tara, Pikachu's tail is a cookie!"

[…!] the Eevee screeched loudly, darting forward with amazing speed. Pikachu was trying to figure out what Tara was doing, while she ran circles around him. After a few seconds, she leapt at the Electric type's tail.

[I WANT THAT !] Tara shrieked before clamping on, her teeth sinking into his tail. Pikachu gave a cry of pain, his cheeks starting to crackle with energy.

"That cookie is bad for you!" Eric yelled, watching both the two pokemon and the kids' confused expressions. The playful Normal type swiftly let go of his tail in the nick of time as Pikachu attempted to shock her into releasing him.

"Now use Take Down!"

The Evolution pokemon rushed her foe, throwing all her weight into a hard tackle that hit him square in the chest. Pikachu was pushed back quite a ways still standing, but now on all fours.

"Pikachu! Are you ok?" Ash asked. [Chu… pika pika!] he replied in affirmation, his cheeks beginning to crackle with voltage. "Ok! Use Thunderbolt!"

'Shit, not again…' "Quick, Tara! Dodge and counter with Iron Tail!"

The Normal type began to move, jumping, zigzagging, and generally dodging like a maniac. Pikachu fired his attack, only for it to impact harmlessly on the ground.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash ordered, his voice showing a hint of panic. The Mouse pokemon's bolt shaped tail began to glow white, running at his opponent.

They finally met and so did their attacks. Iron Tail collided with Iron Tail, quickly becoming a struggle.

"Come on, Tara," Eric called. "You got this! You can do it!"

"Don't give up, Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Give it everything you've got!"

The two pokemon began to push harder, their faces showing the strain it was causing them. Eric noticed this and… a smirk found its way onto his face.

"Tara! Sidestep!" the American champion suddenly declared. The Evolution pokemon did just that, speedily pulling away from the "tail lock" and rolling to the side. This caught Pikachu off guard. And with nothing to stop his momentum, he stumbled forward clumsily.

"Now finish him off with one more Iron Tail!"

Tara turned around and darted towards her adversary, her bushy tail glowing white once again. Pikachu managed to regain his footing and looked back, only to be met with an Iron Tail to the face. He was knocked a couple feet into the air before landing on his belly. The Electric type tried to get back up, but his limbs gave out and he collapsed.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, apparently upset at his loss as he ran out to scoop up his fallen partner.

"Pikachu and Piplup are unable to battle! Eric wins!" Brock declared from the sidelines.

"Alright, Tara!" Eric praised. "Nice work!" The Normal type looked back at him with a big grin on her face. [Veeeeee!]

"That was a great battle, Eric."

The teenager glanced up to see that his opponents had managed to get from the other end of the battleground to 3 feet away from him in a matter of seconds. "Thanks," he replied simply.

"You're really good!" Dawn said. "You sure know how to battle!"

"Well, I'm not the only one that deserves credit," Eric answered, gesturing to Tara and Krystal's pokeball. "I only stand around and give orders. It's the pokemon that do most of the work." Then, Eric's eyes widened, as though remembering something. "Speaking of which… Tara, come here for a sec."

The Eevee approached her trainer with a curious expression, watching as he took off his backpack and started going through it. After a few seconds, he found what he was looking for.

"Tara… I think you've earned this," Eric said, holding up a blue stone. Her eyes shimmered happily when she saw it and for once, she didn't say anything. She got closer to Eric and put her head down, accepting her reward. Eric pressed the cool blue stone to her head for a few seconds.

…

Then, the stone turned white, and so did Tara. She started to glow white and her from began to change. Her ears grew larger and a large collar formed on her neck. A series of ridges appeared on her back and ran down her now much longer, mermaid-like tail. Then the light faded, revealing Tara in her new form.

[Vapooooreeoooonn!] she exclaimed excitedly before seeing her tail and taking a good look at herself.

"Wow! A Vaporeon!" Dawn chimed, pulling out her Pokedex yet again.

"Yep, you've earned it, girl," Eric said, stroking Tara's head, which now felt almost like a dolphin's skin would.

"So why did you evolve her now?" Ash asked. "Why wouldn't you do it before our battle?"

"Well," Eric began. "If you didn't hear me say it, it was a reward. A little while back, I picked up a Water Stone. And when Tara saw it, I told her that if she wanted it, she would have to earn it. And I think that battle was enough for her to prove herself."

"That makes sense," a familiar British-accented voice said from behind him. Eric turned around to see none other than…

"Alex? Where have YOU been?" the teen inquired.

"Oh, Blaziken had an 'episode,' Alex answered, making finger quotations in the air and gesturing to the pokemon in question, who was standing next to him. "Had to help her along."

"Oh, ok." Out of the corner of his eye, Eric noticed Ivana taking a couple steps back with a disgusted look on her face and made a mental note to ask why later on.

"So… if you three are done with me, I think I'm gonna take a look around the city," Eric said, gesturing to Ash, Dawn, and Brock. "I might as well, considering we'll be staying for a day or two."

"Leaving so soon? Why?" Brock queried.

"Better question: Why NOT?" the teen retorted. "…Well then! I'm off. Alex, feel free to do whatever you want. Come on, Tara, Ivana."

[Vapor.]

(Coming…)

And with that, Eric, Ivana, and Tara, walked away from the battleground.

"…And he leaves… just like that…" Dawn muttered just loud enough for her companions to hear.

"Yeah. Seems like he's in a hurry…" Ash added.

Alex shrugged. "Maybe. I dunno."

"Come on guys, let's get Pikachu and Piplup inside," Ash suggested.

"Good idea, Ash," Brock said, starting back down the path.

"Hey, wait up!" Dawn called after him, starting to follow with Piplup in her arms. Ash quickly followed suit.

And now it was just Alex and Blaziken.

"*Sigh* Come on, Blaziken, what do you say we go catch up with Eric."

[Blaze,] the Fire type replied, staying at her master's side.

-Meanwhile…-

Eric had returned Tara to her ball and was now walking down the street with Ivana, just taking in the sights of the busy morning rush. He was so wrapped up, in fact, that he didn't notice that he was being followed by someone other than Ivana or Tara.

" Eric Lombardi… *excited giggle*"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

(1): Try running with a group of 10 people or more; you'll find that you can run a lot farther than on your own.

(2): I know what color it is; I just don't have an exact name for it.

(3): Eric doesn't know much about how Sinnoh deals with trainers. He does, however, know that Sinnoh trainers usually start at age 10, and therefore, she is a noob to him.

(4): Read the bio.

A/N: CHAPTER 13 :D

Hope you enjoyed it!

And don't forget to leave a review!


	15. Chapter 14: Ghosts

Disclaimer: Should I REALLY have to say it at this point?

… Thought I was dead, huh? Yeah, sure. I'm totally dead. I'm typing this as a zombie durr hurr hurr. … Yeah. But I'm alive! And kicking… I think.

I'm sorry for this chapter taking so goddamn long, everyone. Between personal problems, technical difficulties, losing my flash drive AGAIN (that makes this the third attempt for me to write this), school, and writer's block, it's been difficult to get this out, let alone to get myself to get this out.

But enough about that. I want to say that I will not be using the OC's I picked earlier in the story as major characters. That's right. That means that Alex isn't sticking around. Sorry to everyone who submitted, but there are too many plot holes that would be created if I kept them in as major characters. I may be including some of them, but not all. Sorry to disappoint you all. If you wish to submit more characters, feel free to do so, but there are no guarantees that they will show up anywhere in the story at all.

And one last thing: Please note that I have changed the speech key below somewhat, so you may need to get used to that. After this is published, I will be going back and revising the other chapters to make it universal.

So, without further ado, here's the chapter that took me long to do. I hope it was worth the wait. **

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 14: Ghosts

April 21, 2009; 9:32 AM

Eric walked the relatively empty city streets with Ivana and Tara at his side, arms crossed behind his head as he went. The air was pleasantly warm; not too hot, but not too cool either. Just right. There was a light wind blowing as well against their backs, making Eric's somewhat short hair and Ivana's long gown move with the wind. The trainer's eyes drifted to said "gown" as he saw it billowing, finding himself mesmerized by the sight alone. Although when the pokémon it was attached to turned her head to look at him, he looked up at her face, then down at the newly evolved Vaporeon on his left.

He couldn't help but smile at Tara. He felt so proud of her for earning the Water Stone. He would, however, have to remember to sit down with her and start thinking of what moves she would need to learn. That was a big priority for him. After all, he had gone without an actual Water type pokémon for quite some time, and not having a Water type (unless you only carried one specific type) was like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

"Okay… the gym should be around here somewhere…" he muttered to himself, looking around the street as they walked. "… Right…?"

[… I do not know, Master…] Ivana replied via telepathy, answering his question, despite its rhetorical intention.

The trainer glanced at her quizzically for a few seconds, then chuckled and reached over to ruffle her green hair briefly, despite how she shrunk away from his hand for a split second. "Hehehe… I'm not sure either, Ivana," he told her, smiling before turning his gaze to scan for their intended destination. "It's around here somewhere. And when we get there, I'm hoping that you'll get your first gym battle!"

Ivana gave a slow nod, seeming to understand. And Eric knew she did, provided that all she said about the pre-possession Miles was accurate. He quietly began to wonder how good of a trainer Miles was before he turned evil. However, the teen quickly started thinking about other things when he felt a gentle psychic nudge on his arm. Ivana was getting every single thought, and it wasn't exactly something she wanted to think about.

The trio kept walking in silence for about ten minutes more before Eric heard something behind him; something very loud and high-pitched.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

"Aghhhh!" the American trainer cried out as he put his hands to his ears. The sound was deafening. Tara and Ivana were startled as well, but they didn't seem to be as affected as their "master".

"Oh. My. God! You're Eric Lombardi!"

Eric whirled about to face the voice's source and opened his mouth to retort, but then he stopped, rolling his eyes with dread at what he saw: a fangirl. Fan-fucking-tastic.

The fangirl in question looked to be roughly 16 years old, with paper white skin, black eyes, pink hair underneath a white bonnet, a white v-neck minidress with black camo shorts beneath it, and some white wedges.

Eric reached down to tighten the fingerless glove he wore on his right hand, staring at the girl in front of her with a look of clear irritation, annoyance, and other such words. "… Dare I ask who you are?" the trainer sighed in an aggravated tone.

The girl replied with a huge smile, her lips parting to form words that carried a noticeable French accent; not necessarily heavy, but it was noticeable. "Oh, I'm Raeley Minoz!" she said happily, giggling. "I'm a big fan of you! You're the American po- mphh mmhfff!" She was cut off in mid-sentence by Eric's gloved hand.

"Yes, that's faaaacinating, but I'm kinda busy here, Riley," the American trainer said with painfully obvious disinterest. "I'm trying to get to the Hearthome City gym."

Then she gasped, wrenching his hand off of her mouth and speaking again, seeming to ignore the fact that he had said her name incorrectly. "Oh! I know where that is! Come on, follow me, Eric!" And with that, the girl ran off, stopping a few yards away and yelling at them to follow.

Eric looked at Tara, then at Ivana, his expression showing his distaste for the concept, but the fact that he followed her anyways surprised the latter. Why would her master follow this girl if he didn't even like her? A question she decided to pose herself as she caught up with Eric.

[Master…?] she hailed softly as the boy in question turned his head in her direction.

"Yes, Ivana?" he responded, not noticing that Raeley had heard him and was now trying to eavesdrop on the supposedly one-sided conversation.

The Embrace pokémon looked him in the eye for about two second before she averted her gaze down to the ground, quietly suppressing a blush that was trying to make its way to her white cheeks. [… Wh-Why are we following this girl…?] she asked. [… I c-can sense that you do not like her…]

"Because, she knows where the gym is, and I don't really feel like wandering around aimlessly looking for it, when this Riley person can lead us there herself." The trainer then gave a sigh and shook his head. "Don't worry, though. With any luck, we can ditch her once we get inside."

"Eonn…?" Eric turned his head down towards Tara, the newly evolved Vaporeon, and frowned when he saw that she was becoming fatigued from trying to adapt to her new body structure.

He stopped and knelt down next to the Water type, chuckling lightly. "You want to take a rest in your pokéball?" To which the young creature replied with a nod and an exhausted "vappooooooorrr…" Eric reached for his belt and took her ball, tapping her nose with the button and drawing her inside the capsule before shrinking it, replacing it on his belt, and running after Raeley, who hadn't noticed that they were lagging behind.

Five minutes later and with a great amount of rambling on Raeley's part about how she had seen him in so many magazines, had his merchandise (which he never even new existed), and posters of his pokémon, and the like, the group finally reached their destination: the Hearthome City gym.

"Alright, thanks, Raeley!" Eric erupted out of the blue, making Ivana jump a little. "We're gonna go inside and find the gym leader." And before she could have a chance to reply, the male grabbed a hold of Ivana's left arm and started gently pulling her along towards the wooden double doors that led inside the gym.

And just as he was about to open one of them, it opened for him.

"Raeley? Is zat you~?" said a voice from the other side of the door. It was female, and it held a French accent as well, though it was noticeably thicker than Raeley's. And Eric recognized it.

He stepped back as a familiar looking woman in purple pushed the door open, revealing herself to any who had such a line of sight.

"Fantina!" the fangirl cried, running to the purple-clad female and smiling as she quickly explained what had just happened. And while Eric didn't appreciate how annoying her voice sounded, especially when she was spewing words like so, at the very least, it saved him the trouble of introducing and explaining himself.

Just then, she felt a hand on his left arm, and he nearly shouted out with his surprise. Though looking down at the hand, he recognized that it belonged to Ivana, who was cowering behind her trainer. "What's wrong, Ivana…?" he asked, glancing briefly at Fantina and Raeley. "Are you afraid of those two?"

To this, she shook her head, touching her horn to the small of his back as she shared her feelings with him; feelings of fear, of course. [… Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th one in purple…] she stammered (which made Eric wonder how it was possible for a telepath to stutter). [… I-I-I-I-I can smell Ghost types on her…]

In all honesty, Eric felt a pang of thankfulness for Ivana's fears. At the very least, now he knew that this Fantina used Ghost types; possibly exclusively so. "… It's alright, Ivana." He reassured her, reaching back to ruffle her green hair. "You shouldn't have any problems with them." [… R-Really?] "If you do have trouble, I'll take you out of the battle as soon as I can." With his last word there, he felt her grip on him tighten slightly. She was getting clingy, for better or worse.

"So! Raeley tells me zat you are wishing for a gym battle!" the older of the two human females exclaimed, getting Eric's attention and making Ivana hide herself behind him. "Is zis correct?"

"Nope! April fools, except it's late," the trainer replied sarcastically, chuckling lightly. "Of course I want a battle!"

"C'est fantastique!" was her enthusiastic reply, upon which she raised her arms in such a way that you would expect some sort of religious leader to. "If ze things I have heard about you are true, then zis will be a very interesting challenge!"

Eric crossed his arms and walked towards the doors with Ivana practically glued to his form, smiling. "So, shall we get things started?"

-About Ten Minutes Later…-

The arena within the gym was something that Eric had seen before, honestly. The field was littered with large boulders, the room was dark, lit only by small will-o-the-wisps that were floating about the room. Eric had to really focus just to see where he was going.

'… Low visibility… ughhh… this is gonna be a nightmare, isn't it…?' he thought, glancing in his Gardevoir's direction. '… Okay… so… Ivana's definitely going to be sent in… But what about the other two… Tara's exhausted and Krystal's down for the count… All I have left are Matthias and Axel… I should probably send him in first…'

Soon after he finished that thought, he found himself in the challenger's box, with Fantina standing at the other end. As soon as he stopped moving, he noticed that several will-o-the-wisps floated over to several spots nearby, as well as near the gym leader. Many more took places over the field, illuminating it slightly. Yep. A Ghost type would definitely have the advantage.

"What do you say to a deux-on-deux battle, Eric? Standard rules?" he heard Fantina calling across the field. Eric was taken aback by the leader's call. It was usually a three-on-three battle, not two-on-two. But then again… that would mean that Matthias wouldn't have to fight and be ineffective.

"Yep! Now let's get things going!" was Eric's reply to her query, glancing at Ivana again, whom was standing behind him still, her arms against her chest with her oddly shaped green hands grasping at something around her neck. Something that was either invisible, imaginary, or too dark to be seen in the low light. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"This will be a two-on-two single battle between the gym leader, Fantina, and the challenger, Eric Lombardi!" a voice called from somewhere, presumably the referee. "There are no items allowed and there is no time limit. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokémon! Are you both ready?"

"Oui!"

"Yeah!"

"Then send out your pokémon and let the battle begin!"

With that last call from the unseen ref, Fantina produced a pokéball and tossed it onto the arena. "Gengar! Battle position!" she called as capsule opened, a burst of bright light surging forth to release the Ghost/Poison type. Eric cringed a little when he saw the Shadow pokémon, which his Gardevoir took notice of. He just couldn't get over that creepy smile. Sure, it was there practically all the time, but that didn't really help either. In fact, that was the problem!

However, that also meant that Ivana would really shine against such a pokémon, thanks to its type. "Ivana, time for your first gym battle! Get in there!" Eric shouted, after which the Embrace pokémon teleported onto the arena, examining her opponent nervously. And the more she looked at him… the more unnerving he was to the Psychic type.

"Let the battle begin!" the ref's voice suddenly rang out, startling Eric again.

"I shall let you have zee honors, Eric!" Fantina called out, holding out her arm towards the teenager. "You may have zee first attack!"

The American trainer was somewhat expecting this. It was like a trend for the gym leader to allow the challenger the first move. Not that he was complaining.

"Ivana, let's start things off with a Thunderbolt!" he ordered, wanting to not use a Psychic move until after she had softened up her foe. And while it didn't catch Gengar by surprise, it caught its trainer off guard. Normally, it was a Psychic type move that they could easily dodge/block/endure. But Electric type moves usually weren't the opener.

"Gengar! Dodge it and sink into ze shadows!" the gym leader ordered, watching as her pokémon obeyed. Ivana's body crackled with energy before a powerful bolt of electricity shot towards the Gengar. And while it wasn't the paralyzing direct hit that Eric was hoping for, it still managed to graze its target before he sank into the shadows, out of range, out of danger.

"Dammit… Ivana! Come over here near me!" the American champion called out, figuring that with the extra light of the will-o-the-wisps nearby, it would be easier for the Gardevoir to make out her target. Barely a second after he finished his sentence, the Embrace pokémon was standing in front of him, only a few feet away. If he wanted to (and was allowed to), he could reach out and touch her shoulder from where he stood.

Ivana began scanning the darkness carefully, not needing her master's command to do so. She knew that the Gengar was hiding somewhere… But she couldn't sense where, nor could she see him.

"Shadow Punch!" Fantina suddenly called. Ivana began to panic upon hearing those words, frantically searching for her assailant… but then the hit connected. She was knocked into the air by a hit from below as the Gengar leaped out of the shadows from the floor.

"Gaaaaardeeeeee!" she screamed as she was sent flying through the air, followed by a shout from her trainer. "Ivana!"

The Psychic type landed in the darkest part of the arena, with only one floating will-o-the-wisp in the very center of smashed boulder, presumably created by an explosive attack that didn't hit its mark. That one boulder was surrounded on almost all sides by other boulders, showing lots of stress, missing chunks, and the like. All view of her trainer and Fantina was obstructed.

Ivana got to her feet slowly, holding her head as she tried to regain her senses. Then she realized that she was alone… in the dark. But as soon as she reached out for the presences of others, she realized the contrary. She was still in the gym. And as far as she knew, the battle was still going.

"… I can see you… hehehehe…" a voice said, seeming to echo off of a number of invisible walls. The Gardevoir froze up, looking around her as she tried to find where the voice was coming from. "… Hehehe… this'll be fun…" Ivana was about ready to faint, but she shook her head and closed her eyes, focusing. She had to win… she couldn't fail him…

She stood there for what seemed like hours, just trying to find her foe, not moving a muscle from that spot… All the while, the voice kept taunting her, daring her to drop her focus and try to find its source, but Ivana ignored it (though he did succeed in scaring her.) And finally, fed up with waiting, the Gengar began to creep towards her… He drew up behind her and prepared to strike… but just as he was about to swing, the Gardevoir whirled about and swung her arm at him, releasing a huge wave of Psychic energy as she did so. The poor pokémon didn't have any time to react.

Eric was just about to run onto the field to see why nothing was happening when he saw one of the boulders being tossed across the arena, with Gengar practically flattened against it. The large rock soon came to a halt, and then the Shadow pokémon fell off of it. He was unconscious.

"Gengar is unable to battle! Gardevoir wins!" the referee announced from his place unknown. Not that Eric was interested in that. A wide smile appeared on his face as his pokémon came into view, panting softly. "You did it, Ivana!" the American trainer praised, ignoring Fantina's commendations, as well as a sudden burst of wild screaming of his name from behind, courtesy of Raeley. "That was amazing!"

The words of her trainer made her look in his direction, and with a slight smile, she teleported over to him and embraced him tightly, hiding her face with his chest. [… I-I-I was so scared, M-Master…] she sighed, her telepathic voice holding tears, even though he couldn't feel any on his shirt.

"… You were great, Ivana… why don't you sit the next one out?" Eric suggested, gently removing her head from his torso and smiling down at her. The Psychic type gave a light nod and quickly looked away, moving off of the arena to sit down behind him.

He then turned his attention back to the arena, hearing Fantina's voice, and seeing a pokéball being thrown, and opening. "Mismagius, battle position!" she called as the Magical pokémon appeared in a flash of bright light.

Eric didn't even have to think about his choice as he reached for Axel's pokéball and enlarged it. "Axel! Let's finish it!" he shouted as he chucked the ball onto the arena, releasing the Grass type from the capsule.

Axel and Fantina's Mismagius stared intently at each other, the former's eyes lacking all emotions, but one look at them would tell anyone that the Sceptile was ready for a fight. But the Mismagius… there was something odd about the way she was looking at her opponent. It was almost… seductive.

"Let the battle begin!"

"I shall make zee first move zis time! Mismagius! Use Dark Pulse!" The Mismagius' gems began to flash red, an orb full of other black and purple orbs forming within until they were fired at Axel as a beam.

"Quick, Axel! Dodge and charge at her with Leaf Blade!" Eric called, watching as his pokémon rolled out of the way of the beam, and began dashing to the side as his foe kept trying to aim at him. His trainer had to duck under the beam to keep from becoming collateral damage.

The Grass type began to circle his opponent, as said opponent kept trying to hit him. The gap got smaller and smaller between them, until finally, Axel leaped into the air, the leaves on his arms glowing green and becoming longer as he raised them above his head.

"Quickly! Use Magical Leaf!" Fantina cried from the opposite side of the arena. The Magical pokémon began to spin, releasing several glowing green leaves from its body. Most trainers might be confused as to her choice of moves, but Eric understood. Magical Leaf was a relatively fast move to launch, and it never missed.

And while it did, indeed, hit its target, it didn't stop the attack. Axel brought the glowing Leaf Blades down on Mismagius' head just before the Magical Leaf hit the Sceptile in the stomach, knocking him back slightly. It was easy to see that he wasn't badly hurt, and in fact, it seemed like he was just shrugging it off. But Mismagius didn't have that luxury. She was starting to look weak as she picked herself off of the ground.

"Don't let her recover! Use Leaf Blade again, Axel!" Eric ordered, starting to smile. If this blow finished it, he had won.

The Forest pokémon began to charge the attack once more, running towards his Ghost type foe as Fantina called for her to use Dark Pulse again. Her gems didn't even get a chance to start glowing before she took another Leaf Blade to the face, sending her flying across the arena and into the wall. There was a loud cry of pain, and then a thud. Mismagius was down.

"Mismagius is unable to battle! Sceptile wins! The battle goes to the challenger, Eric Lombardi!"

"Wooo! That was great, Axel!" Eric praised from the trainer box, grinning as he took Axel's ball off of his belt and enlarged it, returning the Forest pokémon before he had a chance to do anything he shouldn't. Axel was something of a loose cannon, after all.

Fantina returned her pokémon to its ball and walked across the arena, stopping in front of Eric as she handed him a small metallic case. "That was incredibe! I have not had such a challenge in a long while! You have definitely earned zis: zee Relic Badge~!"

The American trainer heard loud footsteps, those of Raeley, behind him as he opened the small case, revealing the symbol of his achievement. "Thank you, Fantina. Now… Might I ask where a good place to head next would be?" he then said, smiling at the purple-clad woman.

Fantina opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, presumably thinking about an answer before responding. "I would recommend Pastoria City!" she announced after a few minutes. "Zat seems to be where all of zee other trainers go for their next badges. Zere is also Veilstone City… But it is up to you, monsieur!"

Eric nodded at the woman, grinning a little as he pocketed the badge and pulled out his pokédex to check his map. "Alright! Thanks, Fantina!" was his reply before he turned around and walked away from the gym, looking over his shoulder to see Fantina and a reluctant-to-stay Raeley being held back by the gym leader, as well as Ivana following behind him out of the corner of his eye.

"Ahhhhh… alright, let's head back to the pokémon center. Wouldn't hurt to give you guys a chance to rest," he said under his breath, though judging from the quiet "garde…?" he heard from behind him, he was a bit loud in saying it. Not that it particularly mattered.

-15 Minutes Later…-

Eric was situated on a couch in the pokémon center's main lobby, fiddling with his pokédex while he waited for his pokémon to finish their healing session. He was trying to decide, for the most part, which of the two cities mentioned by Fantina would be best for him to visit first. While there was Solaceon City for him to pass through on the way to Veilstone City, he could also head to Pastoria City, and then pass by Lake Valor on the way to Veilstone. He wanted to see the lake, mainly because he had heard a rumor about a mysterious pokémon living in Verity Lake when he was passing nearby. And upon asking the one speaking about it for more details, he learned that there were apparently two more lakes in Sinnoh with a similar story. Or so the man had said. Whether or not he was trustworthy wasn't really an issue for Eric, though. He didn't care.

"… You know what?" he finally said to himself after a few more minutes. "… Pastoria City it is." And with that, he put away his pokédex and walked up to the counter to ask the nurse for directions.

"Excuse me? Nurse Joy?"

"Hmmm?" the nurse toned in reply, looking up at him with a smile. "May I-… Wait, are you Eric Lombardi?"

"Yeah, why?"

"One Alex Jones left a message for you. He said that he was getting bored and went back to training,"

Eric was somewhat surprised, but at the same time, not surprised. It didn't really seem like Alex was looking to stick around anyways. "Alright then… do you know how to get to Pastoria City from here?"

Joy went into detail on where Eric could go, areas to avoid, things to see on the way there, and so many other things that the American trainer didn't even catch.

"… And there you go!" she finally finished, taking a breath and looking at a computer on the desk. Then she heard a beep. "Oh! Your pokémon have finished! Let me go and get them…"

So Eric was left alone in the lobby for about five seconds before the nurse returned, carrying a tray that held five shrunken pokéballs. "Ah, thank you, Nurse Joy."

"No problem, Mr. Lombardi. Is there anything else you need?"

"Nope! I'll just be going to look around, most likely." He didn't even give her time to reply before he turned around, put the balls onto his belt, gave her the tray, and left the pokémon center. After which, he tapped Ivana's ball a couple of times to let her out.

"Feeling better, Ivana?" Eric asked with a soft grin, crossing his arms. The Gardevoir looked around her for a few moments before giving her trainer a slow nod. [Y-Yes…] At her answer, however, Eric began to think… she seemed to be changing somehow… becoming shyer, timid, even. He saw her arms moving upwards to her neck to grasp at something that wasn't there, frowning slightly.

"Well, in any case, let's go look around the city," he said, taking her arm and leading her away from the pokémon center just as he got an idea…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: So, I hope that WAS worth the wait. Please leave a review!


	16. Chapter 15: I don't live under a rock!

Disclaimer: Disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer dis- *punches myself in the face* SHUT UP! D:

So, after that long "hiatus" and pushing out the long awaited (I hope) chapter 14, I figure I might as well keep the ball rolling while it still has momentum. After all, if I don't finish this story, it's going to bug me and bug me and bug me some more until I DO finish it. So let's do this! **

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 15: I don't live under a rock!

April 21, 2009; 11:30 A.M.

Eric and Ivana walked through the city streets once more, which were now much busier than they were a couple of hours before. The smells of food cooking were in the air, thanks to all of the outdoor vending carts lining the sidewalks. People and pokémon were all over the place, some of them in a hurry, others as relaxed as could be. The atmosphere could be described as chaotic, but alive and happy. And Eric loved it.

Ivana… she was a different story, judging by the impressive grip she now had on her trainer's left bicep. He could see her head moving about as though it were on a pivot, cautiously scanning the crowd for anything dangerous or at least remotely frightening. [… I d-do not like it here, m-master…] she told him, pointing out the obvious, pressing her right cheek against his shoulder.

The trainer smiled at her and gently relieved her of her grip on his arm, moving her to stand in front of him and putting both hands on her shoulders. "There. If anyone tries anything, I'll see it, and I'll stop them," he told her, ruffling her soft green hair. As he did this, he could feel her relaxing slightly, moving against his body somewhat. Eric's lips curled into a soft smile. She was starting to feel a bit more comfortable now, it seemed. Either that, or she was just getting clingier. Or perhaps both.

The two kept moving, though somewhat slower now because of how Ivana was moving with him. All the while, Eric was watching the buildings and stalls as he looked for some sort of sign. '… Where is it…' he thought, promptly hearing the Gardevoir's soft, gentle voice within his mind again. [… Wh-Where is what…?] she asked, looking up at her trainer with those beautiful deep crimson orbs of hers.

The American champion swore under his breath and quickly began thinking about tacos, not wanting to spoil what he had in mind. "I was looking for a Mexican restaurant," he lied, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm getting a bit hungry." As soon as he said those words, he felt his stomach rumbling. Maybe it wouldn't be a lie after all. '… I wonder if Ivana could stomach Mexican food…'

[… Mexicain food….?] she parroted, mispronouncing the first word.

"Yeah… I was wondering if you would be able to eat it without vomiting…" Eric replied, chuckling a little. "I was also wondering why you like reading my mind so much, Ivana…" he followed up. He had been wondering why she was always probing his thoughts… Maybe now he would get an answer; or at least, an explanation.

Ivana was silent. She gave him no reply, not by pokéspeech, not by telepathy, body language, nothing. The only thing that broke her silence was the soft grumble of her own stomach, just barely audible over the noise of the crowded street. [… I am hungry, master…] the Psychic type complained softly, looking down at the ground.

Eric could only chuckle, despite the fact that he hadn't gotten the answer he wanted, never mind any answer at all. Oh well. "Alright, Ivana. We'll stop to eat somewhere…" He trailed off briefly, silently debating whether he wanted to go to a restaurant or just to eat outside. In the end, though, he chose the former; he would rather keep the food in his backpack there than go through it and have to buy more. Besides, a restaurant would have tastier food.

The trainer led Ivana through the streets a little while longer before he finally went into a diner called "Jesidica's." First he noticed the strange name, then he saw the sign in the window that read "We have pokémon food, too!"

"Come on, we'll go here," Eric said, taking Ivana's arm gently and pulling her along into the restaurant. The two sat down in a large booth as the American trainer released the other pokémon from their capsules. He took a brief glance around the diner, seeing that it was either unpopular or this wasn't their rush time, judging by how empty it was. In fact, they were the only customers. Of course, this meant that a waitress almost immediately came over.

"Hello there, welcome to Jesidica's! Can I take your order?" she asked, smiling at Eric and his pokémon.

"Um… I'll have just a burger and cola… normal pokémon food for the others, please." With that, the waitress nodded and walked away. Eric reclined a little in the booth and sighed, looking around the small restaurant idly, taking in the now somewhat familiar surroundings. Ivana sat next to him on his right, her left arm brushing against her trainer's. Matthias sat on Ivana's right, his legs crossed and his eyes closed, seemingly meditating. Even as Tara padded over and curled up on his lap, he didn't even flinch. Axel was on the opposite side of the booth and Krystal sat on her haunches at the side of the table, licking her tails idly.

Eventually, though, the waitress came back with a tray of food, mostly for Eric's pokémon, which was set down for them all before Eric was given his own food. Before the waitress had a chance to walk away, though, he stopped her and gave her a card. "Go ahead and take the cost off of this. This is all we need." She nodded and walked away again.

The entire group ate like they hadn't done so in days. By the time the waitress returned with the American trainer's card, he was already done, and so were Matthias and Tara. Krystal and Axel were nearly finished and Ivana was just putting her last bit of food in her mouth. Eric could see her surprise in how quickly they ate, but she simply shrugged and gave him back his card before walking away.

Not even five minutes later and everybody else was ready to go, so Eric stood up and led his team out of the restaurant, being greeted with the sight of an enormous crowd on the streets. '… Now it's "rush hour"…' he thought with a chuckle as he returned his pokémon, apart from Matthias and Ivana, to their respective pokéballs; he wouldn't want the others getting lost in the crowd.

"Come on, you two," he said, starting to walk and beckoning for Matthias to follow while Eric took Ivana's left hand and pulled her along gently. She gasped softly and began to follow, her free hand still at her neck. The Lucario followed along a bit more swiftly, soon at his trainer's side.

{Where are we going, Master?} Matthias asked, giving Eric a questioning look.

"Nowhere in particular, really," he replied, letting go of Ivana's hand after she started walking on her own… or rather, clinging to his arm. "We're pretty much just wandering."

[… Wh-Why…? Why do w-we have to…?] Ivana chimed in softly, clinging a little more tightly as if to punctuate.

"Well, it's not like we HAVE to. I just want to," was his answer, as he distracted himself with a couple of street performers nearby to keep from thinking about his true intentions. Said performers were juggling. Quite simple, really, except that they were doing so in nearly perfect sync with each other. Eric raised an eyebrow, starting to move in their direction to get a closer look.

As of yet, the pair didn't have a very large crowd watching. Most of the crowd was just part of the normal mob of people trying to get from point A to point B. In fact, it seemed like Eric, Ivana, and Matthias were their only spectators. Not that they noticed. They were fixated on their routine, of course. Messing up would only serve to deter more people. Or would it?

The three watched for a few moments more before Eric led his two pokémon away from the performers, and towards a nearby clothing store. This building was a bit more crowded than the restaurant they had been to not long ago. Granted, it wasn't really bad, but there were still people.

Eric led Ivana and Matthias through the store, moving at a relaxed pace, hands crossed behind his head as he went. All the while, his eyes darted around the room, trying to locate something specific… And after a good five minutes of wandering, he stopped, going into a mass of racks and glancing at Ivana. "Come here, Ivana," he said calmly, beckoning her over. The Psychic type nodded and did as she was told, standing next to her trainer and looking at him curiously, though Eric could practically feel her probing his thoughts at that very moment.

The trainer reached onto a nearby rack and pulled a long dark green scarf off of it, pulling Ivana to be slightly closer before wrapping the long strip of fabric around her neck. The Gardevoir didn't seem to really get what he was doing, her hands going to her neck again and grasping the scarf.

"… Voooooiirrr…" she cooed, rubbing her cheek against its soft material, smiling.

"Hehe… I take it you like it, Ivana?" Eric asked, though he was fairly certain he already knew the answer. However, said answer didn't come in the form he thought it would. In that she practically threw herself at him, embracing him tightly and burying her face in his chest.

[T-T-Thank y-y-you, M-Master…!] she exclaimed via telepathy, pressing her horn to his chest to convey her happiness directly to her trainer. So much so, in fact, that he felt his body become slightly warmer, albeit for a brief second and no longer.

"Ehehe… y-you're welcome, Ivana…" Eric replied, gently trying to pry the Gardevoir off of his body. "… But you'll have to take it off for a moment. I have to pay for that before you can wear it out of the store."

Ivana tilted her head at him, gripping the scarf a little tighter for a moment before releasing it, allowing her trainer to remove it from her neck. Taking it off, he walked to the checkout counter and paid for it, while Ivana followed close behind, and Matthias a little further back.

A few seconds later, and Eric handed Ivana back her scarf, wrapping it around her neck, whilst also showing her how to do so herself. As he turned away and started walking, he could see her taking it off and putting it back on again, seemingly trying to memorize Eric's motions. "So… where to next…?" he thought out loud, looking around him as he left the store, with Ivana and Matthias behind him.

"So, wait, let me get this straight: it's TODAY?"

A voice got his attention and he turned his head to see a couple of girls walking slowly down the sidewalk nearby, along with a Mudkip and Lombre following behind them. The girls looked almost exactly the same; about 20 years old, with light brown hair, slightly tan skin, white t-shirt, black knee-length skirt, white ankle socks, white sneakers, and a pair of black framed glasses. The only real ways to tell them apart was their pokémon and the red and green bracelets they both wore.

"Yeah, it's today. That's why I'm going to the Contest Hall. Registration ends in a few hours."

"… Hey, excuse me, girls?" Eric interjected, walking towards the girls, who stopped to look quizzically at the trainer. "What are you two talking about?"

"Oh, there's a pokémon contest today and I'm entering," the girl with the red bracelet said, with her Mudkip letting out a proud "Kiiiip!" in agreement.

The American trainer furrowed his brow slightly. Pokémon contest? He hadn't ever heard of something like that in the US… Or maybe he had, but never really knew it. "Ummm… I'm not sure I follow… pokémon contest?"

Both girls' eyes grew as wide as physically possible, one of their mouths gaping open slightly. Eric looked back and forth between the pair, seeming rather confused about why they seemed so surprised.

"You DON'T know what a pokémon contest is?" the girl with the green bracelet exclaimed, her companion muttering something that sounded like "what the fuck is wrong with this kid?"

"I'm not from here," the trainer replied, sighing quietly. "If we have pokémon contests in America, I haven't heard of them." The moment that those words left his lips, he found himself being grabbed by the wrist and pulled along by both girls.

"We can't allow that! Come on! We'll take you with us!" the green bracelet girl proclaimed, grinning back at the boy.

He was tempted to pull away from them, and he could see Ivana in the corner of his eye, glowing blue and preparing to pry them off of her trainer. But he shook his head at her and gave a "Come on, Ivana. You too, Matthias," before standing up and starting to walk on his own. The Gardevoir nodded and did as she was told, following him with Matthias not far behind her. Although, unbeknownst to Eric, Ivana kept glancing back at the Lucario, sensing something but not being able to identify it through the "Aura shield" that was guarding Matthias' mind.

Eventually, they all came to a large domed building that dominated the town square, with a large ribbon on the overhang that covered the revolving and automatic doors for the building. "This is the Contest Hall," red'let explained as they all walked towards the large structure. "This is where all pokémon contests are held."

Eric chuckled and spoke in mock-irritated tone. "Hey, I may be American, but I can figure that out for myself, thank you very much."

"We know. Not all of you are idiots," her green counterpart replied, sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth. "Oh! By the way, I don't think we've been introduced."

The girl with the red bracelet hugged her companion. "I'm Carly!" she said, smiling. "And this is Rebecca!" The pokémon that were following the girls sounded off as their respective trainers were introduced: Mudkip with Carly, and Lombre for Rebecca.

"Hey there, you two," Eric stated, holding out a hand. "My name's Eric. Behind me are Matthias, my Lucario, and Ivana, my Gardevoir. It's nice to meet you both." The girls shook his hand at the same time, seeming quite enthusiastic about it. "… Just out of curiosity, are you tw-"

"Twins? Yes, we are," they interrupted in almost perfect sync. Apparently, they got that line quite a bit. Either that or they had been rehearsing. "We get that a lot." Case and point.

"I see. Alright. So, mind telling me about what these contests are about?" Eric then asked, crossing his arms as the girls led him into the hall.

The interior of the hall's lobby could be described as both spacious and compact. It was obvious that it only took up roughly a quarter of the building's space. The ceiling was high, though, and that gave the lobby quite the airy feeling. Against the back wall were three desks with a woman behind two of them. The third was unmanned.

"A pokémon contest is all about showing off your pokémon's skill and grace. First there is an appeal round, where you put on a display of your chosen pokémon's abilities in the most creative and awe-inspiring ways," Rebecca explained, looking over at a TV monitor near the desks that was running old footage of the appeal rounds.

At that moment, there was a clip of a Buneary leaping and sliding around on a number of ice pillars, and then smashing them all. For a moment, Eric thought he saw that noob that he had battled earlier that morning… he didn't care to remember any names.

"After the appeal rounds, the judges choose the sixteen best entries and they advance to the battle round. In the battle round, obviously, you have to engage in a battle with another contestant, but there's a catch. There are style meters for both coordinators, which will drain if their opponent is drawing attention to itself. If your meter empties completely, you lose. There is also a five minute timer, usually, to keep things going. The winner of it all will win a Contest Ribbon. If you get five of them, you can participate in the 'Grand Festival,' which is like the Pokémon League for coordinators."

Eric stared at them for a few moments and then nodded. "Sounds simple enough… hmmmmm…" He looked down a little and clenched and unclenched his fist. And after a few seconds, he looked up at the girls. "You both said that registration ends in a few hours?"

"You're going to enter?" Carly queried, smiling slightly.

"Why not? Never hurts to give it a try," the American champion replied, crossing his arms. "Shall we?"

Rebecca and Carly looked at each other, grinned, and nodded. "Yeah!" And with that, the group walked to the desks to get signed up, whilst Matthias and Ivana stayed in that spot, with the former standing there with his furry arms crossed, his gaze occasionally hovering over the latter, whom was stroking her new scarf and smiling.

-Ten Minutes Later…-

Eric was now alone with his two pokémon in a large room in the lower levels of the Contest Hall. The room could be described as a mix of a locker room, media library, and practice room, with the very latter dominating most of the space. The locker room section was rather plain, with a few lockers (plus some sort of automated lock on each) and a bench. Eric had stowed his backpack on the bench, rather than in the lockers. The media library was essentially just a computer with a number of discs containing contest footage contained inside an electric dispenser. And the practice area was just a large open area with a padded mat and a refresher on the wall, if pokémon were hurt and/or became fatigued.

The American trainer was in the media library section of the room, sitting at a desk in front of a computer, looking over clips of different appeals and battles and trying to get a feel for what he should expect and how he should perform. Of course, he wasn't doing so with the same level of focus as he would if he were studying an opponent. This was a casual event for him, after all. If he won, cool; he had a souvenir. If not, oh well; no big loss for him.

While he sat there, Ivana and Matthias were lounging about, the Psychic type's actions not differing much from before, unlike Matthias'. Ivana was still obsessing over the dark green strip of fabric Eric had bought for her. But the Lucario was sitting next to Ivana, with his legs crossed, his paws on his knees, and his eyes closed. The black appendages on the back of his head were rising and lowering every few seconds, a sign that he was meditating. Why he would choose to do so next to Ivana was anybody's guess. But then again, nobody was guessing.

After about five minutes, Eric finally stood up, catching the attention of his Gardevoir, whom promptly teleported to his side. "I think I know what we're going to do. If you don't mind Ivana, I have an idea for an appeal. It involves you."

The Embrace pokémon seemed somewhat surprised at first, maybe at the notion that he wanted to use her. But then she nodded, her body not betraying her excitement, but her eyes doing just that, by the way they sparkled.

"Alright, Matthias!" Eric called, which snapped the Aura pokémon back to reality. "You're gonna have to get out of the way. Ivana and I are going to practice." He nodded and calmly walked to a spot out of the way of the trainer and Gardevoir.

After he had moved, bowed his head momentarily, trying to decide on a method of explaining what he had in mind to the shy little Psychic type next to him. But it only took a brief poke of her chest horn for the idea to come.

Crouching down slightly, Eric smiled up at Ivana, whom was looking down at him quizzically. "Hold still, Ivana…" he said before he lifted one hand and touched the very tip of Ivana's chest horn. And in doing so, he closed his eyes, trying to convey his plan to her.

It didn't take any longer than ten seconds, after which the Gardevoir pulled away and gave him a nod. He stood up, turning towards the center of the practice area, not hearing the soft, quiet whimpering from his pokémon as she teleported to the center of the area.

"Ready, Ivana?" Eric called, pulling out his pokédex and opening it to turn to the Gardevoir entry.

[… Yes, Master…] was her reply.

"Psychic!"

At her trainer's call, Ivana closed her eyes and surrounded herself in a soft blue glow, the air around her beginning to glow in a lighter shade.

"Focus Blast! Four times!"

Her hands rose to be outstretched before her, a ball of light blue energy forming and growing between the green appendages. And once it was about the size of her head, she released it, immediately catching hold of it with Psychic. The process was repeated three more times in rapid succession. Thankfully, it was a quick move to use. Or at least, under these circumstances, it was.

"Thunderbolt!"

Without even missing a beat, she charged the attack and fired it at one of the glowing blue orbs. Upon doing so, much to Eric's delight and amazement, the electricity jumped from one orb to another, retaining its link between the original orbs. Not even five seconds later, a ring of electricity was floating around Ivana.

She began to levitate, without any sort of order from her trainer. She remembered that bit from the mental image she had been shown, so she knew what to do. Ivana kept rising, going higher and higher, to the point where her feet were now above Eric's head, though not directly so.

"Break the chain!" Eric then ordered, pointing at her.

And all at once, the orbs and the electric ring closed on the Gardevoir, presumably causing damage, when in reality, they were just barely out of range for such a thing. They began to spin around the axis that was their creator, reaching a blinding speed within a mere second. And then finally, with a loud "voir!," there was a brilliant explosion, small light orbs, all crackling with energy, falling to the ground, where they effectively disintegrated on impact.

All that was left in the air was Ivana, who began to slowly float back down to the ground. Eric walked towards her, smiling widely. "Ivana, that was incredible!" he praised, stopping when he was right in front of the spot where she would land.

Three seconds later, she did, but she promptly fell to the side. Eric managed to catch her, kneeling with her head on his knee. "Ivana…? Are you alright…?"

[… T-T-Tired…] she muttered, looking physically weak. Eric frowned, pulling out her pokéball, drawing her into it, walking to the refresher and turning it on as he placed the red and white capsule on the machine. Roughly a second after it registered the weight of the sphere, the refresher let out a loud beep, and the ball began to glow white.

As it did, Eric could practically feel Ivana's fatigue fading away. And by the time it was finished and he had removed the ball, it felt like she would start skipping about with the same amount of energy as Tara upon her release from the pokéball.

He pressed the button and watched as the human-like creature rematerialized in front of her trainer. Ivana was looking somewhat better, and Eric reached forward to pull her close. "That was great, Ivana," he said in a lower tone of voice than before. "You think you'll be able to do that again?"

His answer came in the form of a slight nod, as well as a gentle lick on his sleeve. [Y-Yes, Master…]

"Great. Now what say we relax a while before the contest?" Eric suggested, patting her head. She nodded again.

And with that, Ivana and Eric went over to the locker room area of the room, where they sat back against the lockers and just relaxed for the time being…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Don't worry, the contest is coming up. :p I just decided to cut it here for….. no reason. ()

Also, don't forget to read and leave a review! The more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to write these! I thrive on your feedback!


	17. Chapter 16: Mistakes Were Made

Disclaimer: I don't own SHIT.

So, yeah. I'm running out of ideas for this pre-chapter blurb, so here, have a fox.

_,-='"-._ /\_/\

`-.} `=._,.-==-._., ._,

`-._ _,-. ) _,.-'

`" G..m-"^m`m'

Fluffy, isn't he?

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 16: Mistakes Were Made

April 21, 2009; 2:17 P.M.

"Ughhhhh… when does this thing start, anyways…" the American trainer moaned quietly.

Eric was now lying back on the floor of the practice area, sprawled out as he waited for the announcement for the contestants to leave their rooms and report to the waiting area. It had been a good two hours since they entered the room, and Eric's impatience was starting to get the better of him. Matthias and Ivana were not far from their trainer, sitting against the wall. Or rather, Matthias was. Ivana, however, was leaning slightly against him, fighting to keep her eyes open, her head drooping every now and then. The poor thing; only halfway through the day and she was already dozing off.

Not that the humanoid, canine-like pokémon next to her was complaining. He wasn't showing any real emotion in response at all, really. He just sat there, legs out in front of him with his blue furred tail resting behind the Gardevoir, arms crossed and head bowed.

Eventually, Ivana finally succumbed to sleep, her head coming to rest on the Aura pokémon's shoulder. At this, Matthias glanced at her, smiling softly at her. At roughly the same time, Eric sat up and glanced over at them, giving a quiet chuckle at how adorable the Embrace pokémon looked in such a position. He would have taken a picture of the scene, but he didn't have an actual camera, unfortunately.

Just then, a voice came on over the loudspeakers in the room. "Attention, contestants! Attention, contestants!" the voice proclaimed, waking the Gardevoir from her slumber. "The pokémon contest will begin in ten minutes! If you have any last minute preparations, please make them now. Again, the pokémon contest will begin in ten minutes! Thank you!"

"… Hehe… finally…" Eric muttered, getting to his feet and stretching his limbs. Once he had done so, he turned to his pokémon and saw that Matthias was doing the same thing, while Ivana rubbed her eyes and shook her head to wake up. The trainer walked over to the pokégirl and held out a hand for her, smiling down at her. "Come on, Ivana. Time to get up."

She glanced up at him and gave a slow nod, reaching up and grasping his hand gently. Eric tried to pull her up, which was made slightly difficult by the fact that she didn't try to pull herself up for a few seconds, instead staring off into space for some reason. Once she was on her feet, she reached up and grasped her scarf gently, looking around the room.

[I-It is almost time, Master…?]

"Yeah. About ten minutes, according to the announcement," Eric replied, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You think you're ready, Ivana?"

The Gardevoir nodded briefly, trying to look determined, but failing, looking away instead. [… I-I-I am, M-Master…]

He smiled, ruffling her green hair with a chuckle before running a hand along the scarf she wore. "I think… it might be a good idea for me to hold onto this during the appeal, though," he said in a calm tone. "I wouldn't want to see it get lost or damaged if something went wrong."

As soon as he finished that sentence, he wished he hadn't. She immediately took on an expression of anxiety, looking into his eyes in the same manner. [… Y-Y-Y-You think that… I will f-f-fail…?] she asked nervously.

"I was merely stating it as a possibility," Eric replied, stroking her head gently. "It could happen… but I doubt it will. I have faith in you, Ivana. You'll be just fine."

A smile formed on her soft white lips and she nodded, embracing him gently. [… Th-Thank you, Master…] she sighed softly, her head against his chest, apparently listening to his heartbeat, if Eric's guess was correct.

He would have kept his gaze on the female hugging him if it weren't for a sneeze heard in front of him, courtesy of Matthias. {Master…} he said afterwards, shaking himself out before walking towards the human slowly. {I must discuss something with you after the competition.}

Eric raised an eyebrow, looking at his Lucario with a questioning expression. "What about, Matthias?"

As if worried, the Fighting/Steel type lowered his ears and shook his head. {No, Master. Not now,} he replied in a low tone of voice. {There is not enough time now anyway.}

The American trainer shrugged slightly and gave a nod, opening his mouth to speak, but closing it when he heard the speakers going again.

"Attention contestants! The contest will begin in less than five minutes. Please collect your belongings and proceed to the holding area on the second basement floor. There are lockers there to store your items within the holding area. Again, less than five minutes until the contest begins. Thank you!"

Eric sighed and walked over to the locker room area of the room, and then grabbed his backpack, putting it on his shoulders and beckoning for Matthias to follow; Ivana didn't need to be told, considering she was practically glued to his left arm. Before they left the room, however, Eric reached for his belt with his right arm and pulled Matthias pokéball off of it, enlarging it and pointing it at him. "I'm going to keep you in here for the time being. I have a feeling the holding area is going to be cramped, so you might want to just wait in here."

{Very well, Master,} the Lucario replied, bowing respectfully before Eric pushed the button and returned him to the red and white capsule. Once that was done, he shrank the ball, replaced it on his belt, and left the room, shaking his left arm slightly to get Ivana to loosen her grip on it.

The pair walked down a wide hallway for a few moments before reaching a few elevators, two of them with a small number of other people and pokémon waiting. The third elevator was much larger than the other two, but was marked "Authorized Personnel Only." Eric led Ivana to the elevator with the least number of people, and to his delight, the elevator arrived just as he stopped walking.

Upon seeing the strange space, the Gardevoir on his arm began to cling tighter, letting out a soft whimper. "Come on, Ivana," Eric said calmly, gently easing Ivana towards the elevator. "It's not going to hurt you. It'll be done before you know it."

Those words made Ivana flinch, but she gave a very slow, tentative nod, starting to walk with him. Only to be a few seconds late; the elevator left without them.

"Hey, you with the Gardevor!" somebody to the left hailed, pronouncing Ivana's species the wrong way. Eric chuckled as he looked to that direction, remembering how he always said it that way up until he heard an announcer say it a year ago.

"We got space for one more. Come on, kid!" they said again, prompting Eric and Ivana to join them in their elevator. It wasn't like he was going to pass such a thing up.

Ivana thought differently. She shook her head and showed her trainer a mental image of them both being beaten to a pulp, but Eric could tell it was her just being overly timid. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up," the American trainer replied at last. Whoever it was that was holding the door, they seemed to be in a hurry to let the door close.

"You know, Ivana…" Eric sighed as he pushed the elevator call button, looking into her deep crimson eyes. "Not everybody in this world wants to hurt you. Even if they did, I wouldn't let them. They'd have to get through me and the others first anyways."

The Embrace pokémon pouted softly, looking down and then away slightly, pulling her scarf up slightly to hide part of her face; namely her cheeks. [… I-I-I am sorry, Master…] she spoke in a tone that nearly sounded like a whimper. [… P-P-P-P-Please don't be angry…]

Although Ivana was being rather quick to jump to conclusions, as well as being rather dejected about it, Eric had to silently wonder why she was stuttering so much all of a sudden. And through her telepathy, no less! He didn't think that it was possible to stutter while speaking through telepathy… but then again, he was incapable of such, so he wouldn't know. All he could do is do pokémon battles and create strange weighted… things… in his hands.

Still, he abandoned that thought and ruffled her hair lightly, chuckling a little bit. "You think I'm angry?" he began in a calm tone, turning his attention briefly to the elevator as he heard the chime, followed by the doors opening. He led her into the lift and pushed the button marked "BF2" before he turned his mind back to Ivana. "Why would I be? If anything, it's… well…"

Eric hesitated briefly, testing the words he had in mind, for two reasons.

-A: If Ivana took it the wrong way, she might flee or attack him. And…

-B: He had to wonder why he thought of it that way.

"… It's kinda… cute…" the trainer finally finished, wincing veeeery slightly as that final word left his mouth. He waited for Ivana's reaction, but all he saw was her slowly lowering her scarf back down to her neck… The Gardevoir said nothing at that point… but Eric's eyes immediately snapped to the deep tinge of pink on the pokémon's white cheeks.

'Why is she blushing…?' Eric thought, not even bothering with the possibility that she might be probing his thoughts then. '… Is it because I said it was cute…? Maybe I did something strange earlier… Why…?'

The Embrace pokémon let out a quiet "garrrdeeee…" as she rested her head against his bicep, holding his arm a little tighter. The trainer would have asked what she was thinking, but the elevator chime stopped him as they reached BF2 (finally), the door opening to show a large room full of lockers and TV monitors, presumably used for displaying live footage of the contest to those that were waiting for their turn or that had already done their bit. There were small pockets of coordinators scattered around the room, with the occasional lone trainer.

Eric slowly led Ivana into the room, hearing the elevator close behind them, a faint hum sounding as it went back up for more people. He walked over to one of the unused lockers and stowed his backpack inside it before turning to Ivana, opening his mouth to speak. But he was interrupted once again by a voice that filled the holding room. At that same time, all the TV's in the room turned on, showing a woman in a long black gown, with light skin, short blonde hair, and a microphone clutched in one hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" she declared, eliciting a loud cheer from the audience. She then went on about how proud they were to be hosting such an event, occasionally dropping in a subtle advertisement for some big company. But Eric didn't really care about what she was saying, since he saw a computer terminal on the wall flash to life, displaying names besides numbers, under the heading "Appeal Round – Order." He scanned the list for his name and found himself to be… at the top!

1: Jane Hopkins – Snorunt

2: Eric Lombardi – Gardevoir

3: Damien Ahtredies - Ninetales

Eric wasn't sure whether he should be happy or horrified. On the bright side, they would be able to get their appeal done and over with right off the bat. However, he wouldn't have much time to get ready for it, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see a pair of men in matching tan khakis and white dress shirts ushering the first coordinator through a locked door.

They had about two minutes before they would be up on stage.

With a sigh, Eric walked over to the door where the first coordinator had been taken, with Ivana still attached to his arm. He stood there silently, putting his free hand in his pocket and looking down at the Embrace pokémon touching the scarf gently. As soon as he did so, her right hand came to rest gently upon his own, not moving, not rubbing, just holding still there. It was his turn to blush, though it was a very light blush, and didn't last very long. "… Um… Ivana… you might want to let go of my arm… I have a fe-"

Once more, he was cut off in mid-sentence by one of the men calling his name. "Eric Lombardi and Gardevoir, you are now appealing. Please step forward."

Eric nodded at Ivana as though she had said it and walked towards the doors, which opened automatically to show another elevator, open and waiting for them. "Come on, let's go," the trainer spoke as she let go of his arm finally, giving him a chance to shake it out as they stepped onto the elevator. "Oh, and one more thing… I'm going to have to put you back in your pokéball for a bit. It won't take any longer than thirty seconds, I promise."

Ivana seemed surprised by this prospect, but she nodded, closing her eyes and sighing as Eric pulled out her ball and returned her to it. He had to silently wonder how her scarf was drawn in as well, but he didn't really mind. He didn't have time to, as the elevator soon opened to reveal a small archway a few yards away.

Without hesitation, he walked towards the archway. As he did, he could hear the MC introducing him.

"Our second contestant hails all the way from the United States, and is a fresh contender on the pokémon contest scene! So let's give it up for Eric Lombardi and his Gardevoir!"

As soon as she finished her intro, Eric emerged from the archway, finding himself on a stage, surrounded by a huge crowd of people. The inside of this dome seemed a lot bigger than the outside let on.

Not that he cared.

"Ivana! It's time!" he exclaimed as he tossed his Gardevoir's pokéball into the air, releasing the elegant Psychic type from her confinement. She stood completely still as she opened her eyes, trying to ignore all of the stares of the audience, as well as the shouts, the thoughts, the emotions… she focused only on those of her trainer.

'Ivana, do you know what to do?' Eric thought, assuming that Ivana was reading his thoughts at the time. Which she was, judging by the nod she gave shortly after completing that thought.

"Alright then! Show them!" the American champion called, pointing at her. Even before he had finished speaking, her body had already begun to glow like before, her hands slowly rising to form the Focus Blasts.

All Eric could do was watch, and while he heard something about a telepathic connection from the MC, he ignored it; it was probably being mentioned because he wasn't saying anything. He just watched as Ivana did the routine, shooting off one Focus Blast, than another, and another, until there were four light blue orbs circling around her, somehow not blending in with the glow of her Psychic abilities.

The Thunderbolt that followed after was just as he remembered form before, arcing around all four Focus Blasts, drawing a few "ooohs" out of the audience. She began to levitate, rising slowly into the air because of the Psychic energy she was expending. The orbs drew closer to her form slowly, their spinning starting to lose speed as well.

The American trainer frowned slightly; that bit wasn't something they practiced… 'Is something wrong, Ivana…?' he thought, assuming that she was listening.

[…. C-C-C-Cannot… hold… it…] she gasped, her telepathic voice wrought with fatigue. [… I a-am sorry…]

Before her trainer had a chance to respond, the explosion happened… It looked just the way it had when she had performed it the first time. But there was one crucial difference from the first:

Ivana hadn't been thrown to the floor with enough force to cause even the sturdiest of pokémon to stagger. Not that she hit any on the way down.

She hit the ground, right arm first, with a fairly loud cry of pain, though it was drowned out by the audience's cheers of approval at the brilliant display. Said cheers would be different if not for the fact that their view was obscured by the smoke, as well as the remnants of the Focus Blasts and Psychic energy.

"Ivana!" Eric cried out, dashing forwards towards the fallen Gardevoir. He could hear the MC say something briefly about his behavior, but then she realized what had happened. However, only her facial expression changed; she kept on saying how the appeal was amazing. Why? Eric didn't know, nor did he care. Why would he when his pokémon was hurt?

He reached for his belt and pulled out her pokéball again, kneeling down next to her briefly before returning her to the capsule and running off of the stage, back to the elevator. By the time he had done so, the smoke had cleared, and he could guess that they were wondering why the Psychic type had vanished all of a sudden.

Eric didn't care about that either.

The American trainer wasn't even bothering to hide his panic as he waited for the elevator doors to open, and as soon as they had, he dashed through them, nimbly ducking and dodging coordinator and pokémon alike. The only thing he stopped for was his backpack that he had stored inside of a locker. He didn't even bother to try the elevators, going to the stairs instead and running up a few flights before he reached BF1.

And after a little more running, he reached the same room that they had been waiting in before the contest, releasing Ivana from her pokéball, watching as she appeared on the floor. She was facedown, looking hurt, her white and green form covered in dust and the occasional patch of light blue energy; presumably the leftovers of her Psychic energy or Focus Blasts.

"… Ivana…" Eric muttered, kneeling next to her and taking off his backpack. He then opened it and set it down next to him as he moved forward slightly and started looking her over. On her back, she didn't seem to be hurt in too many places, and where she WAS hurt, the damage was minimal. The same was true of her front. The most damage done was cosmetic; she was covered in soot, thanks to the explosion. The Gardevoir's scarf was especially blackened, but it wasn't damaged otherwise.

He checked her right arm, the first part of her that had hit the ground, looking it over thoroughly. It didn't seem to be broken, and was undamaged, providing one excluded a few minor bruises. '... I don't know how you got so lucky, Ivana…' Eric thought, sighing deeply with relief. '… But I'm glad you're okay…'

As if on cue, she began to stir, opening one eye slowly as she let out a pained groan. "Ivana…" her trainer muttered, gently touching her left shoulder. "Are you feeling alright…?"

There was a long pause, attributed mostly to his pokémon trying to recover from a daze. But a minute later, she nodded slowly, holding her right bicep loosely. [… I-I am so-o-o-o-ore… bu-t-t-t unhurt…] she replied in a somewhat fractured manner. Eric was about to ask why it was, but he stopped himself; she must not have regained her focus completely, so her telepathy was messed up for the time being.

Shortly after figuring that out, however, he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, hugging the Embrace pokémon gently. "Thank Arceus, you're alright…" he whispered, not able to see her blush because of the soot, for better or worse. Eric didn't really care that he was getting himself dirty with soot as well; he could always change clothes later.

Finally bringing himself to let go of her a moment later, he sat up and gently grasped her shoulders, a soft smile on his lips. "Do you think you can stand, Ivana?"

His answer came in the form of a brief nod of her head as she slowly, shakily, got to her feet, with Eric's help, of course. Once she was standing, she looked up at her trainer, gazing into his eyes with her own shimmering with… something. He looked back into her crimson orbs, giving a short smile before chuckling lightly. "Well… we're gonna need to clean you up, Ivana," he said, still chuckling.

The Gardevoir seemed confused for a moment, but then she looked down at her blackened form, nodding slowly, bringing one hand to the scarf around her neck. "Oh… that'll need washing, too," Eric said, already thinking of where he could clean her up. There was no real place at the pokémon center for him to really bathe her, strangely enough. There were toilets, but no showers. One of the local hotels would have one, though. At least, they should.

Eric checked his watch. 4:01 PM. "… Well, I don't really think there's much point in sticking around… but I say we stay around for a little bit," the American champion suggested, crossing his arms. "I'm curious about how we did. Is that alright, Ivana?"

[… If that is what y-you want, Master…] she replied in a bland tone, looking down at the floor and rubbing her right arm gently. Eric frowned a little and crossed his arms.

"You don't want to, do you, Ivana?"

[… N-No…] she said after a moment of hesitation. The Gardevoir turned her gaze up to her trainer, her expression looking fearful, but relaxing once she saw how calm he looked.

The pokémon trainer nodded and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to his side as he started to walk slowly. "Fair enough. Come on then, we can go and find somewhere to stay tonight."

Ivana gasped softly as she was grabbed, but relaxed a bit more once she realized what her master was doing, closing her eyes and keeping up with him as best she could. Eric was sure to match his pace to her own, reminding himself that she was still weakened somewhat, and would probably have a bit of difficulty walking normally until it was taken care of.

Together, Eric and Ivana left the contest hall, after the trainer had told the receptionist where they were going. Conveniently, the results had come in while they were in the elevator to the ground level; they hadn't made it to the second round. What a surprise.

'Oh well,' Eric thought as they left, looking around him as he tried to find a hotel somewhere. 'I guess it was worth it… well, actually, maybe not so much… Not with Ivana getting hurt like that.'

After about five minutes of slow walking, the American trainer and his slightly less-blackened (some of the soot had blown off of her body in the wind) Gardevoir found a hotel; a Holiday Inn, to be precise. "This'll do," he said to himself before gently nudging Ivana along with him, leading her inside the hotel and going to the front desk.

The main lobby was rather quiet, the only sound being that of a page turning. The page was part of a magazine - which judging by the rather raunchy illustration on the cover, was probably a porno - that the man at the desk was reading. He looked to be in his forties, slightly chubby with a reddish tone in his skin, wearing a green work shirt with a nametag clipped to the left breast, reading "Leo." His eyes remained glued to the magazine he was reading until after Eric put a hand on the desk, where he dropped it and put on a fake smile. "Welcome to Holiday Inn!" he greeted in a rehearsed, disgruntled tone, the kind of tone that just screamed "I hate my job."

"Hey, I'm looking to get a room. Just for the night," he said, digging into his pocket to fish for his wallet. As soon as he finished speaking, though, a piece of paper was slapped onto the desk, which he took and started to fill out with a pen lying on the desk next to it. After finishing that, he pushed it towards the man.

The man behind the desk took it and entered the data into the computer, raising no questions as to his age, as he did so. Seemed that Sinnoh hotels didn't work the same way as they did in the States. As he entered data into the computer, Eric decided to satisfy his curiosity about the "literature" that Leo was so mesmerized by. Peering over the counter, he saw the magazine lying there, open to a page that depicted a girl in a blue one-piece bathing suit who couldn't have been any more than 18 (and possibly a bit younger) with a relatively large chest – contained in the bathing suit - lying on her back and staring at the reader with a seductive look in her eyes. It looked like there was more to the picture, but he didn't get a chance to really make out the black and red shape before the man spoke up. "Here's your card, kid," he said as Eric stood up normally as quickly as he could, trying to ignore the blush that he now sported.

The trainer accepted the cardkey and sighed, tugging Ivana's arm gently as he led her away from the desk. And though he didn't dare look down at the Psychic type, he could feel her gaze on his face, probably wondering why he was so flustered all of a sudden. He didn't really have to worry about it that much, though, since he was distracted from the porn by the fact that their room had just come into view down the hall. Room 302.

"Here we are…" he muttered as he stopped in front of the door, pushing his cardkey into the slot and hearing a *beep* before opening the door and leading the Embrace pokémon inside. And after closing the door, he led her to the large bed, letting go of her before leaping onto the bed, lying there for a moment before he sat up and dug into his backpack.

Ivana had decided to take a seat on the floor, leaning against the bed, fiddling with her soot-covered scarf. It was almost as if she were saying goodbye to it, knowing that her trainer was going to take it from her for a while.

"Aha!" the human suddenly exclaimed as he pulled potion out of his bag, chuckling. "There you are, you little bugger." Then he glanced at the Gardevoir, getting off of the bed and standing over her. "Please stand up and take of your scarf for me."

Ivana slowly got to her feet, hesitating for quite a while before she removed the long strip of dirty fabric and held it out to her trainer. He took it out of her hand, gently placing it on the bed and checking the potion to make sure it was still full. "This might sting," he then said, pointing the medicinal bottle at her before spraying her down. He got every part of her body from her neck down, remembering not to spray her head, having learned the hard way after trying to use a potion on a certain Riolu. The memory alone made his head hurt.

About two minutes later, he finished spraying her down as the potion ran out. Eric leaned a little to the left and chucked the empty spray bottle into a garbage can. "Is that any better, Ivana?" he then asked, patting her slightly damp shoulder.

[… Y-Yes, Master… thank you…] the pokégirl replied, holding her right arm gently with her left hand.

"Awesome," Eric then said, going into his bag again and digging around before he pulled out a pair of dark blue swimming trunks. "Give me a moment to put these on…" he continued before going into the bathroom with them, closing the door behind him so that he could have a bit of privacy while putting them on. And less than a minute later, his clothes lay in a pile in the corner of the bathroom, as he stepped out of the bathroom and beckoned for Ivana, who hadn't moved from that spot, to come in. The Gardevoir slowly walked towards him and past him into the room.

The bathroom wasn't that large, or impressive; a simple toilet, counter and sink, and bathtub with a showerhead; all very white. Eric walked over to the tub and started the water, the showerhead spraying water down lightly. He put his hand under the flow while his other one fiddled with the valve, eventually settling on a good temperature. Behind him, Ivana walked slowly towards him, her hands moving to grasp at the scarf that wasn't there.

The trainer looked behind him and then stepped into the tub carefully, not wanting to slip. And once he had, he held out a hand to the Embrace pokémon, who took it gently and joined him in the shower.

As soon as she felt the warm water on her body, Ivana let out a soft "… Voooooooiirrr…" closing her eyes and relaxing a little.

"Hehehehe…" Eric chuckled as he grabbed a small bottle of shampoo off of a rack attached to the wall. "The water feels good, doesn't it, Ivana?" he said as he squeezed out a bit of shampoo onto his hand, rubbed it together between them both, and then put his hands on her head. "Keep your eyes closed until I'm done, okay?"

Ivana nodded slightly, just enjoying the warm water as her trainer started to wash her hair. Dirty water flowed off of her head in great amounts as he washed it, making him raise an eyebrow; he was expecting her to be dirty, but not that much.

Soon after, though, he reached for the showerhead and aimed it at her head, having her tilt her head downwards so that the water would run through her hair and rinse it out. As he did so, he kept moving his hands through her hair, trying to speed it along; and after a few seconds, he was done. "You can open your eyes now."

The Gardevoir did so, blinking a few times and rubbing her eyes before looking at him curiously, as if asking what he was doing next. At the same time, the trainer set the shampoo bottle back on the rack and grabbed a bottle of body soap, as well as a cloth that was hanging from it. Pouring the soap on the cloth, he put the bottle back, taking her left arm and starting to run the washcloth up and down the green limb.

As he did so, Ivana looked away, her cheeks turning a bright red. She felt the cloth being moved up her arm, and then to her sides, causing her to shiver. Eric ran the cloth down her sides, along her belly, and then to her right arm, trying to be gentle with her. Bringing the cloth up her arm again after a few seconds, he went around her to wash her back, trying to avoid the red horn protruding from her back.

However, he didn't do very well in this. While trying to get at a stubborn bit of dirt, the cloth was brushed up against the side of her horn, causing her to tense up with a loud gasp, her body adopting a very faint blue glow, but only for an instant. Eric noticed this and pulled away the rag, chuckling nervously. "Ehehe… sorry, Ivana…" he apologized, getting down on his knees and washing the small of her back. "You alright…?"

[… Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes, Mas-s-s-s-s-s-s-ster…] was the Psychic type's reply, her telepathic voice high-pitched and segmented. Eric knew this was probably an effect of brushing her horn, so he just nodded and resumed washing her. The washcloth was brought over her gown, as he carefully washed it, mainly so that he wouldn't miss anything.

All the while, Ivana just stood there, frozen, eyes locked open with a look of shock on her face and her body trembling. Eric didn't seem to notice any of these things, judging by the way he finished with her gown, then reached underneath it to wash her legs off. "Almost done…" he muttered as he wiped her thin legs with the cloth.

And about five seconds after he said so, he finished, pulling the washcloth out from beneath her gown and holding it up to the water to rinse it off. Then he gently nudged her forward to allow the water to rinse away the soap. "Vooiiirrrrrrr…" she cooed quietly, barely audible over the sound of the water hitting the tub below. Her trainer turned her around a moment later to let her back get clean as well.

"… Aaaaand done," the human finally said once all the soap was washed off, turning off the shower and stepping out of it, grabbing Ivana's hand as she took the initiative to follow him out. He grabbed a towel off of the wall and started to dry himself off.

But he stopped soon after when he noticed several droplets of water floating in front of him. Looking at Ivana, he also saw that she was glowing slightly. More water appeared in front of him, and soon, he figured out that she was actually trying to dry him off. Not even thirty seconds passed, and an orb of water about the size of a tennis ball was floating in front of him, and a similar orb was floating in front of her as well.

Eric stared at the floating water spheres, then at Ivana as they were moved over the shower drain and were released, splashing a little, but not escaping the shower. "… Nice," was all the trainer could say to the display. She glanced back at him with a questioning gaze, but she then looked away again, slowly walking towards the bathroom door.

"Just let me get dressed again and I'll go and get your scarf washed," he called after her as she left the room, shedding his swimming trunks – which he wrung out and hung on a hook to dry - and starting to pull on his clothes. "… Have to do my own laundry anyways…"

A few minutes later and he was dressed normally – wearing white running shoes, black zipper cargo pants, a simple white t-shirt, stainless steel analog watch, and his gold "X" necklace. Leaving the bathroom, the trainer grabbed his backpack and Ivana's scarf off of the bed. He glanced at the latter item's owner, whom was sprawled out on the same bed, face down, eyes closed and presumably sleeping. Her head rested on one of the pillows, one of her hands near her mouth, just barely touching her white lips. Eric couldn't help but smile a little at just how cute she looked like that. He would have taken a picture if he had a camera. Her gown was splayed out around her legs, but not in a very modest way, with how little of her lower half it covered. His first instinct was to cover her rump with her gown, but he couldn't help but stare for a few seconds, swallowing. But after those seconds were over, he shook his head and chanted "no no no no no no" silently as he moved to pull the gown over her rear, clearing his throat.

"Um… I-I'll be back in a little while…" he said, rubbing the back of his head, trying to ignore the fact that his cheeks were now beet red. His Gardevoir opened her eyes slightly and glanced up at him sleepily, her head nodding slightly before she closed them again and fell back into slumber.

"… Here… might as well get under the sheets…" the trainer muttered as he walked around to the side of the bed she was lying on and leaned forward, gently nudging her upper half upwards so that he could get to the sheets tucked under the pillows. He pulled them out, sliding under her torso and barely missing her front horn. Letting her rest again, he pulled the sheets out the rest of the way, then let them drape over her up to her shoulders. As soon as he did so, he felt a strange warmth throughout his body, probably courtesy of the pokégirl in bed before him.

[… Th-Thank you, Master…] Yep. It was definitely her. "Sleep well, Ivana…" the trainer replied quietly before he walked away from the bed and towards the door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: This is probably the longest chapter I've ever written for this story. Good? Bad? Something else? Let me know and leave a review!


	18. Chapter 17: Strange Power and Unknown R

Disclaimer: Stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff stuff…

It's getting cold out here… hmmmm… Maybe I'll do something for the holidays…

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 17: Strange Power and Unknown Romance

April 21, 2009, 7:02 PM

About an hour had passed since Eric had left Ivana alone in the room to get everything washed. The trainer had all the newly cleaned clothing in his backpack, save for the dark green scarf that his Gardevoir would undoubtably be delighted to wear again. He debated with himself if it would be worth waking her up over, however. She would probably perk up as soon as she laid eyes on it, but he didn't want to rob her of her rest. That is, provided she was still asleep.

'… Oh well,' he thought as he rounded a corner to continue down another hallway on the way to his room. 'Not that big of a deal.' His gaze wandered around the hall as he went, eyeing the several generic pieces of art that hung on the walls in between closed doors. They all seemed to be of landscapes or pokémon of various types and species, too. Not that he was really playing much attention to that.

Eventually, though, he reached the room, using his card key (and silently cursing it for rejecting the card a few times), and walking back inside. Doing so, he was immediately greeted with a [… Welcome back… Master…]. Walking closer to where he had seen Ivana asleep, the American champion saw that she was still there, but was sitting up, hands at her sides, looking right at him.

"Waiting for me, huh?" Eric remarked in a joking tone, though he knew he was probably not too far off.

[… I w-was…] Yep. She was waiting.

"In any case…" the trainer said, trailing off as he unslung his backpack onto the bed and pulled out the Gardevoir's scarf. "Nice and clean. Warm, too."

Ivana practically threw herself at him to get the strip of dark green cloth, smiling widely as she did so. "Gardeeee!" the Psychic type cried gleefully, springing towards him with enough force to actually make contact. Eric was caught off guard, but caught her as she hit him, stumbling backwards onto the other bed. The trainer hit the soft bed with a low grunt, looking down at the human-like pokémon and chuckling. She landed on top of him, of course, with her head near his chest.

Ivana was a bit busy with rubbing her face around in the scarf to notice, though, repeating drawn out syllables from her species name. "Gaaaaaaaaaa… deeeeeeeeee… voooooooooooooiiiirr…"

Then she gazed up at him with one of the biggest – if not THE biggest – smiles that Eric had ever seen her making. [Th-Th-Thank you, Master…!] the pokégirl gushed before promptly rubbing her cheek against his chest.

Eric could feel his cheeks turning red as he gave another chuckle, though he sounded rather nervous now. "E-Ehehehe… Y-Y-You're welcome…" he stammered, looking away for a moment to try to calm down. However, he couldn't do so for long, as he felt something warm and slightly wet on his chest.

She was licking at his front through his shirt.

"Gahhhhh!" the trainer exclaimed, gently pushing her head away. "… Pleeeeeease don't do that…" He could really feel his cheeks burning at that, and he tried to stand up, which Ivana allowed him to do.

[… S-S-Sorry, Master…] the Embrace pokémon apologized, sitting back down on the other bed. She glanced down at her lap, silently wondering if what she was doing was wrong. She would have probed his thoughts for a reason, but she restrained herself from doing so; she didn't want to disappoint him further.

Eric sat there on the bed opposite of his pokémon for several minutes, remaining there in complete (and very awkward) silence. He looked all around the room, trying to avoid his Gardevoir's fixed gaze.

The same pokémon's eyes were locked onto her trainer, seemingly entranced. She didn't move, didn't speak, she just stared.

After about seven minutes of awkward silence, Eric finally let out a sigh, standing up and stretching. "I'm gonna go outside for a bit of air…" he spoke plainly, before freezing, blinking a few times before shaking his head. "Actually, no. First…"

His hand went to his belt as he tapped each of the pokéballs' buttons, enlarging each ball before taking them off one by one and releasing Axel, Tara, Matthias, and Krystal (in that order.) Then he went to his backpack and dug out a bag of pokémon food. "You guys hungry?" he asked, to which - with the exception of a certain Gardevoir - his pokémon replied with cries of affirmation. He chuckled a bit and set about to feeding his team, filling a bowl for each of his pokémon. After which he just sat back on one of the beds and watched them, pulling a few berries out of his bag and munching on them idly.

Even as he did, though, he couldn't stop thinking about how the Gardevoir had been acting a few moments before. Sure, her happiness with being reunited with her scarf was understandable, he thought. But the way she displayed it to him was somewhat strange in his eyes… The trainer was just happy that it had happened in the hotel room, instead of somewhere more public…

Shaking his head, he decided to grab a TV remote off of the table between the two beds and turned on the TV, which came to life at low volume. The lights flashed on for the box and managed to startle Tara in the process, who attempted to spray it with water, but couldn't muster it. Krystal seemed to find this funny as she leaned over and licked the top of her head a few times.

Flipping away from the usual hotel channel that encouraged guests to buy movies and old games on pay-per-view, he kept mashing the CH + button until he landed on a channel that he wanted. Or so he thought.

"-was finally arrested last night in his home, based on charges of kidnapping, pokémon cruelty, pokéality, and possession of illegal weapons. The suspect has been stealing pokémon from their owners, selling some on the black market and performing inappropriate acts on some of the others. Several dozen pokémon have been located in the suspect's basement, clearly neglected, and in many cases, abused. The rest of the stolen pokémon are missing, and police are currently investigating their whereabouts."

Eric listened rather intently to what the anchor was saying, though he couldn't hold back a grimace at the list of the crimes this person had committed. '… Jeez… what the hell is wrong with that guy…?' he thought, cringing at some of the mental images he was getting as he started to flip through channels again.

He distracted himself from those images though. The pokémon helped with that, thanks to a bit of mischief caused by Tara, whom had figured out how to become water, and was tormenting Axel with that ability by lunging at him and becoming water, splashing him, reforming, and repeating the process. And while Eric couldn't help but laugh quietly at the display, the Sceptile was far from amused. It only stopped when Krystal, who was also watching, came over, picked the Vaporeon up by the scruff of her neck, and carried her away to groom her "offspring."

While the two separated themselves from the Grass type, (who had simply turned away, exclaiming something in the process) Matthias was leaning against the wall, caught in a stare that was directed at/near Ivana. The Embrace pokémon in question was still on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for whatever reason, appearing to be in deep thought. Eric had to silently wonder what it was she was thinking about, but a low grunt from the Lucario distracted him as he shook his head out, and then glanced at his trainer.

"Hey, Matthias," the human hailed, walking towards the Aura pokémon and making a gesture towards the door. "Come on, let's go outside for a bit." The canine-like creature nodded, turning to the other pokémon and announcing something in pokéspeech that probably meant something like "behave while we are gone." Then he turned around and followed his master out of the hotel room, walking down the hall towards the lobby.

{What is it, Master?} Matthias queried, his tone showing his curiosity. {Why have you brought me along?}

"Two reasons: You said you wanted to talk to me about something earlier today, and I want to try to get that… light… ball… swirly…. thing… to work," the American replied, stretching his arms over his head, then sighing. "But you know, I have to ask. Why didn't you want to talk about it then? I know we were short on time, but still…"

Matthias didn't give a reply, instead turning his head to look away from his trainer. His blue furry tail drooped slightly as well, making Eric raise an eyebrow at the sight. "… Lemme guess: something that you didn't want to talk about around Ivana or anyone else?"

The Lucario nodded, letting out something of a sigh as the two entered the lobby, then walked out of the hotel. Eric looked around for a brief second before leading his partner into an out-of-the-way copse where they wouldn't be noticed, hopefully.

"… Okay, this should do it…" the trainer muttered, sighing a little as he walked a little closer to a large oak tree that stood on the edge of the copse furthest from the hotel. "Alright… let's see some results this time…" he muttered once more as he held out his hand, palm facing up, closing his eyes and concentrating.

Matthias stood there, arguing with himself whether or not he wanted to interrupt his master. Finally, though, he eventually decided against it, moving to a tree near the oak and sitting back against its trunk.

Several minutes passed with no results, and Eric was beginning to feel somewhat impatient with how things were going…

Then the light appeared in his hand as an orb, slowly growing in size, and soon stopping as darkness came forth from the aether and mixed into the orb. Slowly, the orb began to expand, lowering into his palm as he felt it taking weight, feeling like one end of the shape was heavier and bigger than the other.

Eric clenched his teeth and tried to focus harder, desperately trying not to lose his progress. His stance shifted, one foot moving back behind him, as if he were bracing himself from some unseen force pushing against him. "… Ngggghhhhhhh…" the human groaned. '… Come on… come… on… just… a little… more…'

Then it finally happened. He felt the weight drop into his palm fully. And in the process, he fell on top of it, unprepared for it. "Waaaaah!" There was a dull thud as he hit the ground, arms at his sides, his right hand clutching something.

{… M-Master! L-L-Look…!} Matthias exclaimed, his tone clearly awestruck. Eric let out another groan, slowly lifting his head out of the dirt – and spitting out a mouthful of the stuff – to look at his hand. And what he saw made his jaw drop.

Clutched tightly in his hand was a brilliant sword. The hilt was wrapped in black leather, with some sort of writing along the strips that appeared to be in Unown letters. The pommel was circular, with a strange jewel in the center of it. Inside it, tendrils of both light and darkness intertwined with each other, endlessly mingling within the stone. Further up, the hand guard jutted out a few inches, and then curved upwards. One half of it was gold, with intricate vines along its sides and part of it curving down from the upwards curve to move closer to the blade. The other half was black and plain, but the metal was noticeably thicker, even if it was still proportional to its lighter colored "neighbor." And then there was the blade itself. It must have been at least 36 inches long, tapering off to a fine point. The metal was as reflective as a mirror, and every so often, a thin ring of light or darkness (alternating) would appear from the hilt and move all the way up to the tip. All in all, a beautiful sword.

"… Holy shit…" Eric gasped, letting go of the sword and standing up quickly, staring at the weapon. Matthias walked over next to his master, then knelt down, reaching out to touch the blade. But just before he touched it, the sword vanished completely in a flash of light. "… What the fuck…? Where'd it go?"

His question was answered when the weapon reappeared in his right hand, again, in a flash of light. "… What is this, the motherfucking Keyblade?" Eric laughed, loving how delightfully cliché it was, despite what it implied.

The human took the sword and held it in front of him, left hand underneath his right on the hilt as he noticed that all of its weight seemed to fade away as he held it. "… This is cool," Eric said with a grin as he did a few slashes with the blade. Matthias had to take a quick jump backwards to avoid having his belly sliced open, letting out a surprised yelp as he did. {Master! Be careful, please! You almost hit me!} he cried, stepping backwards further to distance himself from the sword.

Eric stopped his slashing by driving it into the ground, getting about eight inches of steel (or whatever the hell it was made of) buried in the dirt. "Sorry, Matthias," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "… Well… since I've got this thing to toy around with… what did you want to talk about?"

The Lucario visibly swallowed and his tail drooped again, then he sat down against the tree trunk. {… I have… been feeling strange lately, Master…} he muttered, his Aura-powered voice low and monotonous. {… I do not know what it is, but…}

"… But what?" Eric asked as he dug the sword out of the ground, surprised to see that even though the tip had been buried in dirt, the blade was still completely clean.

{… It seems like… I begin feeling strange whenever I am around the others… I begin to feel somewhat warmer, I feel like my breathing is harder… I do not understand it, Master. Is there something wrong with me?}

Eric stopped examining the sword and walked closer to the pokémon, shoving it back into the ground nearby. "Do you feel sick or something?" he asked, kneeling down and touching the Lucario's head with the back of his hand. "You certainly don't look it. Can you tell me more?"

{… I… believe it began when… the Gardevoir joined us…} Matthias replied after a rather long bout of hesitation, as if he were afraid to say so. {… And the feelings… they intensify when she is nearby.}

Meanwhile, Eric's mind was buzzing with a couple of possibilities as to what it could be. It was either: a) Matthias had fallen in love with Ivana, or b) Ivana was having some sort of adverse effect on him, perhaps because of her psychic abilities. Eric was beginning to lean towards the former.

"… Matthias, do you feel the urge to be around her?" he asked, sighing a little and rubbing the back of his head. "… I know you said you feel strange around her, but do you ever feel like you just want to be closer to her?"

The Fighting/Steel type's ears twitched slightly, and he bowed his head, seeming to be thinking hard about this. All the while, Eric watched his expression, silently waiting for his response, whenever it would come. … And it would come after a while, truthfully, but when it did, Matthias lifted his head and looked his trainer in the eye. He nodded.

"… Uh-huh…" was all that the American said for a moment as he tried to figure out what he should say, how he should say it, or if he should say anything at all. It was a subject that Eric was, to say the least, unfamiliar with. He couldn't really remember a time when he had felt such, let alone explained it. Hell, the only reason he had figured it out was because Matthias' description went along with every other cliché on the "am I in love?" matter.

"… I think you must be attracted to her…" he finally stated after a long while of hesitation. "… Uhhh… I don't really know what to tell you beyond that, though… Sorry, Matthias."

{It is alright, Master,} his Lucario responded, seeming much more relaxed (or at least, more composed.) {I know now what it is. Thank you… Do you want to stay here any longer with your sword?}

The question surprised Eric a little – given the subject beforehand – but he didn't really complain. Instead, he nodded, pulling the long blade back out of the ground and looking at himself in the steel's reflection. "… Shiny." Eric couldn't help but stare at the impeccably reflective metal for a little while longer, but he eventually brought himself to move the "mirror" away. He looked at one of the smaller trees nearby and then at the sword.

The American walked over to it, looking up at the branches, then hitting the flat of the blade against its trunk to alert any pokémon in the tree to get out. Nothing moved. So, with a smile, Eric gripped the hilt tightly and brought the sharp weapon back behind him, and then swung at the tree. "Raah!" He expected the sword to be stopped by the trunk, even despite how thin it was. But this was not the case. He felt very little, if any resistance, as the mirror-reflective blade cut through the tree as if it were butter.

"… Holy shit, that's awesome!" Eric exclaimed as it fell sideways, grinning widely. The teenager chuckled as he ran out of the copse into another area that had much thicker vegetation. Swinging the blade all around, he was doing quite a bit of damage to the trees, random bushes and the like, but he didn't really notice. Eric was having too much fun. It was only when he nearly decapitated a Bidoof (which was trying to flee from him) that he stopped his rampage, turning around and swallowing. "… Ummmmm… Sorry…" he apologized, though to nobody in particular.

{… Master… perhaps we should return to the hotel,} came a suggestion from Matthias, who was trailing behind him at a relatively safe distance. {I do not think the pokémon are pleased with your actions.}

Without even looking around at the slowly growing mob of angry pokémon, Eric spun around and darted back the way he came, not wanting to stick around for what might befall him should he stay. But as he ran, he suddenly felt the weight of the sword in his hand vanish, and looking behind him, he saw that there was a brief flash of light. It was this flash that the blade disappeared into, supposedly. Eric told himself to figure out how that happened later, but for the time being, it was better to just keep running until they reached the hotel.

The trainer and Lucario didn't take very long in reaching their destination, either. They dashed in through the Holiday Inn front door, through the lobby and down the hall towards the room. And then finally, in whipping out the keycard and opening the door, they entered, Eric being out of breath while Matthias simply made sure the door closed behind them.

Of course, it would be impossible to not draw attention with these sorts of actions, and looking up from the floor after trying to catch his breath would reveal that four of his other pokémon were staring at him, seeming confused. "… Don't… worry… Matthias and I just… went running…" he lied, trying to make himself believe it so that Ivana wouldn't clue in on the truth (that is, if she was probing his mind.)

To make it seem even more believable, the human walked over to one of the beds and sprawled out on it, breathing somewhat hard as he closed his eyes. If the others wanted an explanation, they could wait. Eric was exhausted, and he just wanted to try to sleep now.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Chapter 17, finally done. Took quite a bit of thought, and a lot of revisions, but it's finally done. You know the drill; review


	19. Chapter 18: Fighting

Disclaimer: *cricket chirping*

So, I trust you are all enjoying the story thus far. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't be reading this right now. You'd be off somewhere else, doing other things. But you're not (or you're multitasking), and that makes me happy. So, now that I'm done with that… On with the story!

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 18: Fighting

"… Where am I…?"

Trapped in a lightless, endless void, the air was heavy, and every sound Eric made echoed like mad. Every footstep sounded like a boom, every single breath was like a fan blowing nearby. It confounded him.

"… How the hell did I get here…?" Eric queried out loud, continuing to walk through the vast expanse of nothingness. "And better yet, how do I get out?" It reminded him of the state he was in prior to his awakening from his coma not long ago. It all seemed so very familiar, and yet… Eric could feel another presence...

"… Hello?" the trainer exclaimed, hearing his echo last for several seconds. Nothing came back as a reply. He tried a second time, and then a third time and they both turned out the same.

"… Damn it…"

"…. E-E-r-r-r-r-iiiiiiiiiii-cccc…" a ghastly voice rasped behind him, startling Eric and making him turn right around.

"W-Who's there…?" the American champion called, his voice beginning to quiver, his heartbeat gaining tempo, along with his breathing. The space in front of him was still completely dark. Nothing there.

"… H-H-H-H-eeeeel-llllp… m-m-eeeeee…." The voice sounded again, still originating from in front of him, but still no source. This time, however, the voice was clearer. It sounded like…

"… Ivana…? Where are you?" Eric yelled, looking about frantically as he felt panic setting in and adrenaline starting to flow through his body. "… IVANA!"

"… M-Maaaas-s-s-S-s-tee-eee-e-eeeeee-eEEeer-rr-rrrr…"

Eric began to walk forward towards Ivana's voice, trying to stay calm, but having much difficulty in doing so. Each of his footsteps, as loud as they were with the echo, was completely drowned out by the terrible sound.

Eric had only taken about fifteen steps when suddenly, a ray of light shot down from above, illuminating a small section of the ground in front of him. And within that little spot of light lay a Gardevoir with a dark green scarf wrapped around her neck. "Ivana!" he practically screamed, running over to her side and picking her up in his arms.

But as soon as he did, he realized how weak and injured she was. Her body felt frail, as if the slightest bump would shatter bones. Parts of her skin were gone, and where it was absent, it was infected, festering, utterly disgusting. Large portions of her natural white gown were torn, or missing altogether. What was left was covered in dirt and dried blood. The red horns on her front and back looked like oddly shaped raisins, shriveled up. And her scarf was all but thread, littered with rips, tears, holes, and the fabric itself was so thin, Eric could practically see her neck through it. Her skin seemed darker, just slightly, but noticeable nonetheless. And on top of all of this… she was cold and limp.

She was dead.

"… I-I-I-I-Ivana…?" the teen spoke, his voice trembling even more after realizing what had happened to her. "… No… No… No!" Tears began welling up in his eyes, holding her form closer to his. And he just cried. She was gone.

Or so he thought. Out of the blue, her body began to stir, her hands twitching and a very faint groan radiating from her body. Instantly, Eric froze up, looking down at the Gardevoir with a hopeful expression. His mouth opened to form words, but none came.

Ivana's body began to move more, and she eventually came to pull back from him, kneeling in front of her trainer. Her head and arms hung limply before her, and her breathing was very shallow, almost nonexistent. "… M-M-M-Ma-aaaaaAaaa-steeer…" she rasped eerily, the tone making Eric uneasy.

"Ivana… what's wrong…?" came the inevitable question, his own voice still holding tears, and filled with anxiety. He reached out slowly with his right hand to touch her head… When it jerked upwards.

Eric couldn't hold back the terrified yell at what he saw. It was Ivana, alright. But her face looked like it had been rotting, with patches of skin missing or dark grey. Her once beautiful crimson eyes were gone, leaving only the pale white sclera, which held a disgusting yellow glow.

"… I-I-Ivana… what the… what ha-" he stammered, backing away slowly as he did, but was interrupted by a loud sound that sounded like a hiss and a growl mixed together, coming from the zombie-like pokémon in front of him. And no sooner had that sound come up from her throat than did she swing her arm at him, narrowly missing him.

"Gahhh!" Eric cried, taking a quick step backwards to avoid the swing. "W-What are you doing?"

"… M-M-Ma-aaaAaste-e-e-e-e-eeerrrrrr-r…" she groaned again as she started moving towards him, her pace matching his own, her arms flailing at him all the while.

"Ivana! Stop! Snap out o- AAUUUUUGGGHHHH!" the trainer pleaded before he was interrupted by one of Ivana's attacks, made to connect by a sudden lurch forward on her part. Eric found himself on the floor, dazed and in pain. Over him, the Gardevoir came to stand next to his body, raising her arms slowly.

"… H-H-HeeeeEEelll-p-P-p-p… meeee-eee-eeeeeEee-eeeee…" was the last thing she spoke before she brought her arms down on his head, and everything faded away…

April 22, 2009; 3:32 AM

"Nooooo!" came a cry of terror, as Eric's eyes shot open and his body lurched up into an impromptu sitting position. His body was shaking, and his breathing came hard and fast, a dull pain in his chest. He scanned the dark room, seeing that all was still from where he was.

[… M-Master…?] a familiar voice said from within his head, one that wasn't raspy and broken. One that made him sigh with relief. Eric looked to his left, seeing Ivana on the other bed. She was sitting up against the headboard, and although the room was too dark to see most of her figure, her silhouette could still be made out. [… Is e-everything alright…?]

Eric sighed softly with relief, cupping his face in his hands and trying to collect himself for a moment. At the very least, now he knew it was all a dream… or rather, a nightmare.

"… I… I guess so…" he muttered to himself, not paying attention to the sound of his Gardevoir getting out of her bed and sitting beside him on his. Her slender green arms were wrapped around his right arm. She didn't say anything more. She didn't think to; all that mattered was being there for him.

Eric uncovered his face and looked down at the pokémon clinging to his body, and he couldn't help but smile slightly. Using his free arm, he gently pulled her closer and then began stroking her head, running his fingers through her green hair. '… It was just a dream, Eric…' he thought. '… Nothing more…'

[… Master… why… why did I do that…?] Ivana suddenly asked, looking up at his face through the darkness. The trainer turned his gaze down to her own, blinking a few times. "What…? What d-…" he started, but then stopped after figuring it out for himself. "… I don't know, Ivana…" was his whispered reply, not bothering to try to hide the tension in his voice. "… I really don't know…" And he didn't; why it was Ivana, why she looked like a zombie, why she tried (and apparently succeeded) to kill him… all of these things were mysteries to the teenager.

[… I would… n-never hurt you, Master…] she told him softly, resting her head on his chest. "I know you wouldn't..." Eric replied with a sigh, closing his eyes and sinking back down to lie on the bed again. Ivana made no attempts to peel herself from him, closing her own eyes and letting out a quiet "vooirr…" It didn't take long for either of them to doze off back into slumber…

-April 22, 2009; 10:27 AM-

The feeling of movement against his body brought the American trainer back to consciousness, eliciting a soft groan out of him as he slowly opened his eyes. The room was still fairly dark, despite the light shining through cracks in the window curtains. Most of the other pokémon were up and about, save for Krystal, whom was still curled up near Eric's bed. Ivana was still in the same place that she had fallen asleep earlier that morning. Axel, Tara, and Matthias were sitting on the other bed, gathered around Eric's bag and helping themselves to their breakfast.

Eric was about to sit up, but first, he gently nudged Ivana's arm, wanting to wake her up, rather than make her fall over. "Ivvy… rise and shine; it's morning," he said in a half whisper. This caused her to squirm a little, letting out a sleepy moan as she slowly opened her deep crimson eyes. Her gaze almost instantly turned to her trainer, smiling softly as she idly brought a hand to touch the dark green scarf around her neck.

[… G-G-G-Good m-morning… m-master…] she told him softly, her tone seeming a lot lighter than it had earlier. Then she moved slightly to allow him to move, but didn't break contact with him. In fact, as he sat up and yawned, she just hugged him, as if for no particular reason. Eric didn't seem to particularly mind, actually; the usual feelings of surprise and somewhat unenthusiastic acceptance were absent.

"Morning, Ivana…" he replied, stretching his arms before he slowly got off of the bed, thanks in part to a certain Psychic type being attached to his arm. Without even bothering to do anything else first, he reached for his backpack and pulled out several berries, popping one in his mouth while a few others were laid on the bed for Ivana. Crouching down, near Krystal, he stroked her head gently, smiling a little at how her warm and incredibly soft fur felt on his hand. "Time to get up, Krystal. It's morning," he said, placing a handful of berries near her head as he saw her waking up.

'… We'll head out today… towards Pastoria City,' he thought, popping another berry into his mouth, as he took a glance at the three pokémon that had awoken before them; particularly at Matthias, who in turn, was watching Ivana. The Lucario was making great efforts to disguise it, however. The trainer made a mental note to try to deal with it at some point.

"Alright, guys. Eat up! We're hitting the road as soon as you're finished!" he announced, promptly followed by a squeal of excitement from a certain Eeveelution. "… That reminds me…" Eric then said, going into his backpack again and pulling out what looked like a CD case and a palm pilot with a small slot in the top. He opened the case, pulling out a few small cartridges (think DS game cards) and walked over to Tara.

"It's time I change up your moveset," he said to her, sitting next to the Water type and loading a cartridge into the slot. Then, holding the device to her forehead, he pressed a green button, and a quiet beep sounded from it as it started to glow faintly. Said glow only lasted for a few seconds before it faded, and an affirmative beep came from the device.

"There we go. Surf…" Eric said to himself as Tara tilted her head at him, seeming unsure of what was just done. "Now… just one more…"

Eric stayed true to that, as well, repeating the process once more before putting away the device and case. "I love having that thing," the trainer said in a somewhat happy voice, pulling out his pokédex and aiming it at Tara.

"… Vaporeon… Known moves: Quick Attack, Ice Beam, Surf, Iron Tail," the pokédex said in a mechanical voice, drawing a smile out of its owner. "Great. They worked."

With that out of the way, Eric stood up again and reached for his pokéball belt, looking at his pokémon. "Alright, we're hitting the road and heading to another city. Who's getting in their balls?" he asked, watching as Axel stepped forward, along with Krystal and Matthias. One by one, he took their capsules off of his belt, returned them to the red and white spheres, and then put them back on his belt until only Ivana and Tara remained.

"Alright… let's get going!" Eric said, shouldering his backpack and beckoning for the Gardevoir and Vaporeon to follow him. And follow him they did, with Ivana close at his side and Tara at his feet, they left the room, checked out of the hotel, and left, heading towards the city limits.

-30 Minutes Later…-

After traversing about half the city in trying to find the correct path, the three finally reached the route to Pastoria City, but it did not come without something interesting to look at. In this case: a group of about ten people and an Elekid watching a huge mass of dark clouds in the distance. Murmuring could be heard between most of them, some seeming fearful, other sounding amazed.

"… What's this, I wonder…" Eric said to himself, starting to approach the group with Tara and Ivana behind him.

"Where'd it come from though?" "How the hell should I know? One minute, the sky was clear as could be! Next minute, dark storm clouds from the æther!"

"Hey, excuse me!" the American trainer hailed as he walked closer to the group, which turned to look at the teenager with questioning looks. "What's going on here?"

One of them, a woman in her 60's by Eric's guess, spoke up first. "Those storm clouds over the road and the Pokémon Mansion just appeared without warning, that's what!" she snapped, seeming rather angry about the whole thing.

"Take it easy, Grammie," another one of them said, a boy about Eric's age. "She gets testy a lot. But yeah, those clouds just showed up a couple of minutes ago. And there weren't any clouds in the sky beforehand, either! It's the weirdest thing!"

"Sure sounds like it…" Eric replied, looking out over the road as a few bolts of lightning struck in the distance. "Think it's safe to go down there?"

"Well… I guess so." This time, it was a very fat man, probably in his 30's. "Long as you don't get struck by lightning, should be fine."

Eric shrugged a little, nodding at them. "Yeah, you're probably right. Anyways, I should get going. I've got to get to Pastoria City!" he bade, turning towards the road and starting to walk away.

"Good luck!", "Happy trails!", and "DON'T GET FRIED!" were some of their responses as the trainer and his two pokémon started moving down the road, waving goodbye to him as they went.

For quite a while, nothing happened and everything seemed normal, apart from the fact that there was thunder and lightning, but no rain. [… Master… I know… that the man said it wouldn't be dangerous…] Ivana piped up, looking around nervously and toying with her scarf in a similar manner. [… But… e-everything here… feels bad… evil…] The Embrace pokémon's tone grew shakier with every word, but Eric shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be fine, Ivana. If anything, it's a good thing… as soon as it starts raining, that is…" the boy reassured her with a glance towards the darkened sky. Tara chimed in just after her trainer, happy as usual as she apparently tried to help console the Gardevoir. Ivana drew closer to him, seeking protection from whatever evil she was sensing.

As the three kept going, however, Eric began to feel… uneasy. He felt like he was being watched… the American champion silently wondered if it was because of Cresselia, but eventually, he just stopped walking, turning to the two pokémon following him. He reached for their pokéballs and pointed them at their respective occupants. "Alright… I think you might be right, Ivana… I want you two back in your balls for now…" To this, both nodded as the red beams from their capsules engulfed them and sucked them back into the red and white spheres.

In replacing them on his belt, Eric had an idea, grabbing another ball and gently tossing it. The resulting beam of light materialized and released Matthias into view of his trainer.

{What is it, M-…} the Lucario began, but stopped short, seeming overwhelmed by some unexplainable power or presence. Or perhaps, it wasn't as mysterious as one might think.

{… I… feel something… immense… Master…} Matthias continued, holding a paw to his forehead either in pain or in an effort to focus (or both; Eric couldn't tell which). The trainer frowned, walking closer to the Fighting/Steel type. "Where is it coming from…?"

{… E-Everywhere… M-Master… Please…return me to my ball…!} This caught Eric off guard; if Matthias was pleading to be put back in his pokéball, then things were definitely bad. "… Alright… thank you, Matthias…" he said plainly, doing as his Lucario asked and then replacing the ball on his belt.

Eric let out a sigh, cursing under his breath as he continued on. The feeling of being watched didn't disappear, either. In fact, it began to grow, until he could swear someone was walking right behind him. Every time he felt a presence, though, turning around would reveal that there was nobody there. Of course, this only added to Eric's steadily growing frustration.

His unease really began to pick up as he heard growling all around him… although this time, it took form.

With very little warning, a Mightyena emerged from the tree line directly in front of Eric, taking on a predatory stance and growling hungrily at the trainer.

"Shit!" was his reply, taking a jump back at the sight of the canine-like creature. But upon taking a second look at the pokémon, there was something different about it… The Mightyena looked as though it was burning, but the flames were black, dark, sinister. The pokémon's eyes were completely black as well.

"… What the fuck is-" Eric muttered to himself just as it launched itself at him, the human managing to dodge the lunge, but only just. And from there, he turned and started running, looking back over his shoulder as the Mightyena recovered and started chasing him.

The trainer's mind was a complete mess, fraught with panic as he fled from his rapidly gaining assailant. He knew he had to get away, but there were so many things he had going through his mind as well. What was wrong with the Mightyena? Would he be able to escape it? Could he fight it off? Should he let out one of his pokémon to help him?

But as quickly as these thoughts came, they were drowned out by a strange, but familiar voice in his mind.

'… You must fight…' it said. '… Call forth your blade…'

"Cresselia!" Eric cried aloud just as the pursuing Dark type pounced on him, pinning him down with his face in the dirt. With a grunt, he looked over his shoulder, seeing the Mightyena lift its head to howl triumphantly. A few seconds for Eric to possibly save himself…

Closing his eyes, he began to focus as hard as he could, trying desperately to make the mirror-bladed sword reappear. '… Please… come on… come on!' he silently begged as the howl ended, and his attacker prepared to finish its prey.

Then suddenly, it yelped loudly, rearing back and allowing him freedom. But he didn't take it; he could feel it. It was working! His sword began to take form and the Mightyena adopted the low stance it had taken before.

By the time his sword was solid in his hands, though, it was already too late. The possessed creature tackled him headlong and brought him back down to the ground, though he was able to face up this time. Not that it helped. In a last attempt to free himself, he tried to use his sword, but the pokémon was poised over him in such a way that he couldn't effectively hit the Dark type. In short words, his efforts were futile.

"No… No!" the boy yelled, eyes wide, breathing hard, watching in horror as it reared its head back to finish him off. He cringed, shutting his eyes and bracing himself…

… for the blow that never came.

Just then, something came from the side and sent the canine flying into a nearby tree trunk with a resounding *CRACK*. Eric opened his eyes slowly, glancing at the Mightyena, now dazed, and then at his savior.

It was Ivana. And for the first time, she looked angry. VERY angry.

"I-Ivana!" he gasped, getting to his feet as quickly as he could. "I-…" then he stopped himself, deciding it was better to worry about the still moving Dark type a few yards away than "the how." That, and Ivana didn't seem to be in the mood to explain things.

The canine got to its feet, shaking its head as it bared its fangs and snarled loudly, and promptly darted forward towards the two, specifically towards Ivana this time.

"Ivana! Focus Blast!" Eric quickly declared, with Ivana responding before he even finished saying her name. And good for her, too; a second later and she would have been lunch. Instead, what it got was a facefull of Focus Blast.

Once more, the same tree got hit with a flying Mightyena, but this time, it didn't get up... It tried desperately to do so, but it was in bad shape. It was still burning with a dark fire, it was still hostile, but it couldn't carry out its impulse to attack the two.

Eric had a hard time feeling any sympathy for the creature, for obvious reasons. In fact, he had half a mind to finish Ivana's work. The human turned to his Gardevoir, frowning a little as she glanced back at him.

"What do you think, Ivana…?" he asked, gesturing to the wounded Mightyena. "Should I… kill it?" The Embrace pokémon didn't take long in answering, much to his surprise. [… It tried to kill you, Master… If that is what you wish…] she replied, her expression becoming somewhat fearful. [… But please… d-d-do not make me watch…]

The American trainer hesitated for a moment, wondering why she would say such a thing, but filed into the mental "ask later" box. "… Alright… You'll want to look away, then…" he said in a low voice, gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands and turning to walk slowly towards the Mightyena.

As he did so, he half expected to hear Cresselia's voice again, telling him not to go through with things, but there was no such interjection, just the sounds of Eric's footsteps and the Mightyena's whimpering. A few steps more and he was standing over the dark wounded creature, sword clutched tightly.

Eric hesitated once more as he stared down at his former attacker… and then, shutting his eyes, he raised the blade and plunged it into the fallen pokémon's neck. A deafening yelp sounded very briefly from the Mightyena as it was dealt a finishing blow, squirming around feebly to try to escape.

The American champion grimaced even more as he twisted the blade, hearing its final gasp of pain before the Mightyena stopped moving completely. Dead. With a deep sigh, Eric lifted the blade slowly out of the corpse, bowing his head as he turned away from it.

"… Alright… It's done, Ivana…" he said plainly, walking away from the dead pokémon behind him, not even noticing as the sword he held evaporated in a flash of light and vanished. The Gardevoir turned around and gazed at Eric, then ran towards him, catching him in a tight embrace. [… I am s-so glad you a-are alright, M-M-Master…] she sniveled, clinging to him tightly as he put his own arms around her gently.

"… Thank you, Ivana…" came Eric's reply, looking down at the Psychic type with a light smile. She looked up back at him, seeming confused about his thanks. "… You saved my life," the boy continued, tightening his arms' hold on her ever so slightly.

[… I could not… stand t-t-to feel everything from my ball… I h-had to help…] she came back with, though her tone carried a feeling of shame, much to her trainer's confusion. [… I know I-]

Eric stopped her by putting a finger to her lips, chuckling a little and grinning. "It's fine, Ivana. We're both alive; that's all that matters." With these words, she seemed to calm down, nodding at him and stepping back from him. [… S-Should we… keep going… Master…?]

"Yeah, let's get moving." And with that final exchange, the two continued on down the road. As they got further from the dark pokémon's body, a light rain began to fall, and the thunder and lightning ceased. Ivana drew closer to her trainer, her hands glowing slightly as she used her powers to protect her scarf from the falling water. Eric noticed it and chuckled a little more, ruffling her hair.

-15 Minutes Later…-

The now soggy corpse of the Mightyena still lay under the tree, the ground beneath it soaked in blood and water. It seemed like it had never been possessed to begin with…

Especially as it started to glow.

The ground around it began to shine faintly, in contrast to the much brighter gleam of the Dark type itself. The blood vanished from its body and surroundings, its wounds healed slowly, and the tree it had damaged began to steadily regenerate. Eventually, the light faded, and one very confused Mightyena lifted its head, looking around the path and wondering what it was doing there. Then it realized it was raining, and dashed further into the trees, completely oblivious to its death not long ago.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Well, there you have it! I had a lot of fun with this chapter, but I really do hope that the action was good. Anyways, I hope you liked it! Please leave a review! The more I get, the more motivated I am to keep writing!


	20. Chapter 19: Behind One's Back

Disclaimer: - Okay, I'm done.

Jeez… It's kinda hard to believe that I've been working on this story for a good two years now. Yep; January 12, 2010 was when I uploaded the first chapter. And since then, I've done so much work on it, it's kinda scary. Granted, I know it's actually rather slow; there are other stories that have waaaaaaay more than me in waaaaaaay less time. But anyways, here you go: Chapter 19. Enjoy!

Oh, and pie is delicious. :3

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 19: Behind One's Back

April 22, 2009; 12:08 PM

Rain continued to fall over the road to Pastoria City as Eric and Ivana traveled towards the aforementioned city. It hadn't picked up at all since their encounter with the possessed Mightyena not long ago, much to Eric's quiet delight. He didn't mind the rain so much, but he didn't like being cold and wet. Such a description was relatively accurate to his situation, too.

"… Jeez… I'm freaking soaked…" he muttered, restating the obvious as he looked around him. "I really should get an umbrella or something one of these days…"

[… What is an umbrella…?] came an unrelated reply from Ivana, still next to him, holding onto his arm gently as they walked.

Her trainer couldn't help but chuckle, smiling at her and holding his free arm up as if he were holding one. "It's something we use to keep ourselves dry. It's like a big… leaf… I guess… you hold it up over your head and it keeps you dry."

The Gardevoir tilted her head at him, seeming not to understand, but then she simply nodded her head. [… Humans have strange things, Master…] she stated, toying with the tassels on her scarf, which still glowed faintly with the barrier that kept it dry.

"That we do, Ivvy. That we do," he agreed, ruffling her hair a little. "But a lot of strange things we have are very good things we have… I could give examples, but then I'd talk you to death."

The Embrace pokémon gave a brief nod of acknowledgement, turning her attention back to the road in front of them. The silence continued for quite a while as well, until a brief rumble was heard in the distance.

"… Thunder. Great. Rain's probably gonna pick up soon." Eric sighed, stopping and looking around him. "I think we should probably find some sort of shelter… See anything, Ivana?" He turned to the Psychic type and watched as she looked around them, then soon shook her head. [… No, Master…]

"Alright…" Eric sighed, grabbing her arm gently and tugging her along. "Come on, I-" he stopped mid sentence, though, smiling a little. "… Now that I think about it, I recall hearing about some sort of mansion on this route. Maybe we can hide there until the rain passes… Assuming we find it."

Ivana nodded again, moving along with her trainer, clinging to his arm once more as she did. Eric glanced at her briefly and raised an eyebrow, but merely shrugged a little, figuring that after their encounter before, she was still happy to have him.

Further traveling brought with it a pickup in the rain, as well as thunder and lightning. Eric shivered lightly from the cold water, his drenched clothing clinging to his body, his hair matted down against his head. He kept glancing around him to try to find the mansion he had heard about, but still nothing.

After ten more minutes of walking, he finally gave up. "F-Fuck it," he said with a light shiver, holding his arms. "Let's just find a big tr-… no… bad idea… lightning… Umm…"

[… Master… th-th-that light…] his Gardevoir suddenly piped up, pointing out at a faint light in the distance that was barely visible over the treeline. Eric had to strain his eyes to see it, but a grin appeared on his face when he did. "Good eye, Ivana," Eric praised, turning to her. "Now… do you think you could teleport us there? Or somewhere close to it?"

Ivana gave a quick nod and took the human's hand in both of her own. [Y-Yes, Master…!] she responded, seeming strangely excited all of a sudden. She closed her eyes afterward and began to focus, her body adopting a faint blue glow much like the one that surrounded the dark green scarf around her neck. Shortly afterwards, the air around them began to ripple, and just like that, they were gone, reappearing seconds later in a completely different area.

They were now on a different part of the road, in front of a set of stairs that led up to a huge mansion. The outside of the structure looked rather simple in comparison, however. It was painted white with a red painted roof, appearing to be built from wood. In addition, it wasn't as high as one might expect: two stories, not counting the possible basement.

"… Thanks, Ivvy," the American trainer said to his Gardevoir, putting an arm around her shoulder as he started walking towards the door. "Now… let's see if anyone's home…"

The two climbed the steps to the mansion, Eric getting close to the door and knocking a few times. And much to his surprise, someone came to open it a few seconds later. A woman in a simple white dress, probably in her early 20's, with long blonde hair and light skin, opened the door and gave the soaked pair a quick once-over.

"Hello there… um…would you mind if we stayed here for a while…?" Eric asked somewhat awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "At least until the rain blows over…"

The woman looked back and forth between Eric and Ivana a few times before nodding, giving them a smile. "Of course! Come right in!" she declared, pulling the door open and prompting them to enter. They wasted no time, of course.

"Elena! We have guests!" the woman called once the door was shut. "Please bring a pair of towels for them!" Within seconds, the sounds of footsteps echoed through the hall and a girl in a maid outfit came in from another room, holding a pair of towels. "Here you are!" Eric took the towels she offered and handed one to Ivana, wrapping it around himself and sighing. "Thanks…"

"May I ask who you are?" the woman inquired, crossing her arms and staring directly at the teenager in a manner that was somewhat imposing without being forceful.

"Uhhh… y-yeah… My name is Eric… This is Ivana…" he replied, gesturing to his pokémon when appropriate. "… What about you?"

"My name is Celeste," the woman answered, looking at a ring on her left hand as she answered. "Well, make yourselves comfortable, Eric and Ivana. If you need anything, please talk to one of our maids. They will take care of you." After she had said this, she turned about, speaking to them as she walked away. "I will be retiring for a short while…" was all they heard before she disappeared into another room.

The trainer and his Gardevoir were left in the foyer, with only the maid to accompany them. The latter spoke not long after her mistress was gone. "Well, since you are our guests, would you like me to show you to your room?" she asked, smiling warmly at the two.

"… Uhhhh… ssssure… I guess so…" he replied, shivering a little. "I wasn't planning on staying very long, but if she insists…" The maid nodded and started walking into another room. "Then please follow me!"

Silently, Eric did as he was told, with Ivana not far behind. He probably would have declined the offer from before, but seeing how he was freezing cold and soaked to the bone, he wasn't about to pass on the offer of warming up. The two were led up a staircase and down a long, wide hallway, soon being directed into a room on the right side of said hallway. "This is your room, sir! Feel free to use it as long as you wish!"

Eric walked inside and raised an eyebrow at what he saw. The floor was covered with a white carpet, with dark green walls, a large king sized bed with black sheets, several white pillows, and a heavier grey blanket folded at the foot of the bed. There were also several other basic pieces of furniture; nightstand, lamps, dressers, a mirror, etc. There was even a bathroom, complete with shower, in a separate but connected room.

"… Not bad…" the trainer said, nodding a bit. "Not bad at all." Ivana walked in behind him and her eyes widened, letting out a soft "voooirr…" as she took in the surroundings. "… I don't think I'd mind staying here for a while…" Eric continued, shivering a little before turning to Ivana. "What do you think? You okay with staying here a while?"

The Embrace pokémon glanced at her trainer, giving a brief nod. [… It does not matter to me… if you want to stay, I do as well…] she answered him, her mouth cracking the faintest of smiles.

Her trainer nodded back, turning back to the maid whom was still at the door. "If we need anything else, I'll yell," Eric told her, crossing his arms beneath his towel. "Alright!" Elena replied simply before walking away to perform other tasks, closing the door before she did so.

"… Alright…" the American champion sighed, getting rid of the towel and heading towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna go take a shower…" But before he entered it, he stopped, removing his pokéball belt and releasing the rest of his team from their capsules. "You guys behave while I'm in here," were his final words before he entered the bathroom and closed the door, leaving Axel, Tara, Krystal, Matthias, and Ivana alone in the room.

Ivana sighed and went to the bed, lying down on it as Tara leaped up onto it. The Water type sidled up close to the Gardevoir as Krystal followed suit with them both, climbing onto the bed and curling up around Tara. Axel resumed his usual act of leaning against the wall. And Matthias started wandering around the room aimlessly, his head down and his eyes closed, as if in deep thought.

Nobody seemed to pay it any mind, until the shiny Ninetales lifted her head, tilting it as she saw the Lucario mulling over something. After watching him for a few seconds more, she stood up, getting off of the bed and padding over to the Fighting/Steel type. "Is something wrong, Matthias?" she asked, stopping him as he turned to look down at the Ninetales.

Matthias shook his head, sighing lowly as he held a paw to his forehead. "No… I am fine… why do you ask…?" he replied, then crossing his arms.

Krystal sat on her haunches and shook her sleek black furred head, seeming to chuckle a little. "You know as well as I do that that's a lie, Matthias," she said matter-of-factly, her tails waving about idly behind her. "You know you can tell me, Matthias."

Turning around with a quiet grunt, he beckoned for her to follow with a paw. "I do not wish to discuss this here…" he said, his blue furred tail swaying slightly to point towards the sleeping pair of Ivana and Tara. Krystal glanced in that direction and then gave a knowing nod, standing up on all fours again and starting to follow him as they left the room.

Once he was sure they were out of earshot of the others, Matthias stopped, having traveled into a conservatory in the process. "… Here…"

"So what is it that has you in such a state?" Krystal asked again, once again sitting on her haunches. "It's rare that I ever see you like this…" Matthias took a brief second to collect himself before answering, turning about and crossing his arms.

"… I have… been thinking…" he began, not glancing up as one of the maids crossed the hall just outside the room. "I have been feeling strange ever since Ivana became one of us… I have talked to Master about the matter, and what he said was… that I was..." He paused for a moment, half trying to remember what he said, half wondering how he should say it himself, all the while awkwardly rubbing his paw spikes together.

"… He told me that I must be… attracted… to her…"

Now it was Krystal's turn to be awkward; her eyes widened and her nine sleek black tails ceased their movement. "… You're… attracted to her…?" she asked, begging a repeat, but her tone suggesting that there was indeed a problem. "… Oh… w-well… then… I… you…"

"… Krystal, why are you speaking like you know something…?" Matthias queried, tilting his head slightly. "… What is it?"

The Fox pokémon shook her head frantically, her tails starting to move again, but in a rather panicked manner. "No! Nothing!" Needless to say, Matthias easily picked up on her defensive response. She wasn't a very good liar, either.

"What is it, Krystal?" he insisted, taking a step forward. "I-"

"No… I can't tell you…" the Fire type interrupted, deciding to just cut her losses and come out with a reason. "When I hear secrets, I keep them. And I don't plan on changing that."

The Lucario stared at the black furred Ninetales for some time, wondering if he should persist and try to get it out of her, or if he should just back off "… I am asking you as a friend, Krystal…" Matthias stated lowly after a long bout of hesitation. In turn, she gazed down at her paws, thinking hard about it for quite a while before finally speaking again.

"… I promised… I would keep it secret… but…" she began, closing her eyes and grimacing lightly. "… She… is…" the Fox pokémon started, "….. already attracted… to….… someone else…"

-Meanwhile…-

Eric walked out of the bathroom, with a very slight cloud of steam behind him. "Ahhhh… needed that…" he muttered, shaking his head. He now wore a pair of black cargo pants and a grey t-shirt. He glanced around the room, first seeing Axel, being quiet and disinterested as usual. Then his gaze settled on Ivana and Tara, curled up around each other on the bed. Ivana was on her side, arms out in front of her while the Vaporeon was curled up into a little blue ball beneath them.

'… Hehehe… cute,' Eric thought as he scanned the room for Matthias and Krystal. '… Wait… where are the others?' "… Krystal? Matthias? Where are you?" he spoke, walking towards the open door. And after walking through it, he was greeted almost instantly by a low "niiiiiine."

"Oh, there you are, Krystal," the trainer said, stroking her head as she walked past him and into the room. The shiny pokémon didn't react, though, other than perhaps the lowering of her tails. "… What's with her, I wonder…?" he muttered, crossing his arms and starting to walk down the hallway that she had come from.

Eric wandered the mansion for quite a while as he searched for Matthias, occasionally asking the maids that were dotted about the place if they had seen him, but none of them had. It took a good long while before he finally checked the conservatory. "Matthias? Are you in here…?" the trainer called as he poked his head into the room, looking around briefly before seeing a familiar pair of blue ears poking up from behind a planter box. Then it was a familiar looking head.

{… Master?} the Lucario spoke, tilting his head at the human as he stood up. {What do you need?}

"Nothing, I was just looking for you," came Eric's answer as he walked closer to Matthias. "I noticed you and Krystal weren't in the room, so I came looking. I'm surprised you didn't hear me calling you, actually."

{Yes… I was hungry,} Matthias explained, gesturing to a tomato plant with the red fruits still on the vine. {My apologies, Master.} There was something about his tone, however, that put Eric off, causing him to raise an eyebrow and cross his arms.

"Are you hiding something?" he asked simply, tapping his foot a couple times. If he was sure the Fighting/Steel type was hiding anything, he would have been a bit more assertive, but Eric wasn't the best at reading others for lying. "Is it about what we… discussed the other night?" he then guessed, leaning against the planter box. Much to his surprise, the pokémon nodded, letting out a deep groan and looking away. {Yes,} the answer came, his Aura seeming rather annoyed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a little irritated, Matthias. It's not often you use that tone of voice."

The next move on the canine-like creature's part, however, really got Eric's attention. He stepped towards his master, glaring daggers at the human before grabbing him by his collar and lifting him up into the air effortlessly.

"Aghh! What are you doing, Matthias?" the American champion cried out, struggling to get out of his Lucario's grasp. "Let go of me! Now!"

The Aura pokémon continued to stare angrily at his victim, but then, blinked a few times, releasing him, shaking his head, and turning away from Eric. The human was not pleased at all.

"What the HELL was that, Matthias?" Eric shouted, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around to face his trainer. "What was that for?"

No answer was given by his partner, who opted to walk right past Eric and out of the room without a sound. The trainer stood there, stunned by what had just happened, unsure of what to make of it.

'… Did I… do something wrong…?' he thought, bowing his head in thought. 'If so, what DID I do?' Matthias was known for being a very calm pokémon, after all. It was hard to imagine him doing something of that nature without being provoked… 'So why did he do it!' With a deep sigh, Eric shook his head, turning towards the door and starting to walk back to the room. He hadn't even noticed that it had stopped raining outside until he reentered his room and saw the lack of rain out the window.

"… Well, rain's stopped…" the trainer said aloud, rubbing the back of his head as he went to get his backpack. "Up and at 'em, guys. We're leaving," he then announced, watching as Ivana and Tara reluctantly came out of their slumber and stretched. Axel looked ready to go as usual, Krystal seemed like she was waiting for it, and Matthias…

Well, Eric didn't keep his gaze on the Lucario long enough to really notice.

To such an effect, he grabbed the Fighting/Steel type's pokéball off of his belt and aimed it at its occupant. "Back in the ball, Matthias," Eric muttered, watching as he faded into red light and returned to the capsule. "Anyone else want to go in their ball?"

None of them answered him, save for Axel, who usually went in his ball anyways, and was promptly returned to it. But Tara, Krystal, and Ivana were silent, all watching their trainer with varying levels of curiosity.

[Master…?] the latter spoke up finally as Eric returned the Grass type's ball to his belt. [Wh-Why are you so angry with M-Matthias?] The Gardevoir walked closer to her trainer, looking up at him.

"… Let's just go, Ivvy," Eric replied, sighing and turning around with a beckon over his shoulder for Krystal and Tara to follow. "I want to get to Pastoria sometime in the next century." With those words, he led the girls out of the room and into the front parlor.

"Wait!" a familiar voice called; Celeste. "Where are you going?"

Eric turned to his left to see the woman standing in the doorway to a dining room. "The rain stopped, so I'm going ahead and taking advantage of it," came his answer, grabbing the front door's knob and tapping it with his fingers repeatedly. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"No, but I thought you would stay longer, that's all," Celeste retorted in a tone that sounded disappointed and lofty at the same time. "You certainly seemed like you wanted to."

Eric took his hand off of the knob and crossed his arms, shaking his head. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I got to warm up and change into dry clothes, and so did Ivana. That's all we really needed. And so, not much reason to stick around."

"Ahhhh… Very well," the woman spoke, walking towards him and then opening the front door to him. "You are welcome to return if you wish."

Eric glanced at the now opened door, briefly taking in the state of things outside: it was still rather grey, and the rain had gone from non-existent to a very light mist. Clouds still dominated the sky above, though there were breaks in them on the horizon. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks," the American trainer thanked, gesturing for his pokémon to walk through the open door. "See ya, Celeste."

"Farewell, Eric."

With that simple exchange, the boy turned towards the door and left the mansion, hearing the door close behind him as he walked towards the three pokémon waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase. "Well, let's get a move on! We still wanna make it to Pastoria!"

The four began to walk south down the path that stemmed from the mansion, with one of them piping up in questioning to her master. [… Master?]

"Yeah, Ivana?"

[… Why did… M-Matthias… do that t-to you…?] Ivana asked, walking close to the human's side and gently clinging to his left arm. His eyes widened, not at the cling, but at the question. But to keep it quiet…

'… I wish I knew, Ivana,' the teenager thought, looking down at his Gardevoir. '... I think he and Krystal had some kind of argument about something, but he wouldn't say why after he let go of me.'

[… D-D-Did he hurt y-]

'I'm fine, Ivana. Don't worry about it,' he countered before she finished,

[… O-Okay…] she conceded, bowing her head and starting to fiddle with the end of her dark green scarf. [… Master…? Do you… mind me… holding your arm?] the Embrace pokémon then quipped a few seconds later, bringing part of her scarf up over her face, mainly her cheeks.

"Huh? Why do you ask?" Eric asked aloud, somewhat surprised by how random the question seemed.

[… I… I sometimes wonder… if you think I am annoying…] the pokégirl confessed, looking up at him with one eye while the other remained hidden behind the green hair that covered her face. [… I c-can feel how… irritated you are… I do not want to make you… a-a-a-angry… with me…]

Eric couldn't resist a chuckle, ruffling her green hair a little. "As long as you're not pulling it off, I don't care," he told her, giving her a lopsided grin. What he didn't give was the secondary, somewhat embarrassing fact that he thought her skin was soft, and it felt strangely good on his own arm.

Ivana smiled a little, looking up at him fully and uncovering her face in the process. [Th-Thank you… Master…] she spoke softly, speaking normally in her own dialect at the same time. She didn't notice the slight tinge of pink on her cheeks, but he did.

'… Hey, she's blushing. Wonder why…?' Eric thought idly, not really thinking anything of it, though. And that became even more obvious when he heard the sound of a helicopter flying in the distance.

"… I think we're getting close," he said to himself aloud. "Come on girls, pick up the pace!" Eric then announced, starting to jog lightly as Ivana lost her grip on his arm and Krystal and Tara began scampering after him. The Psychic type ran along with them at Eric's side, arms at her sides as she kept pace with that of her trainer's.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: So, there's the nineteenth! I hope it was worth reading! You guys know the drill! Leave a review after you read this chapter, please!


	21. Chapter 20: Homecoming

Disclaimer: Not mine :p

Number 20! That's right! Twenty! I've hit a milestone! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

On a note unrelated to my happiness with the situation, I have a request. If you are reading this, then PLEASE leave a review when you're done with the chapter. I even have anonymous reviewing enabled! I just want feedback! I know I sound like I'm grubbing for attention, but that's because I am! Good, bad, meh, it doesn't matter! I want to know what YOU think.

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 20: Homecoming

April 22, 2009; 2:15 PM

A few houses were becoming visible further down the road as Eric, Ivana, Krystal, and Tara walked towards Pastoria City, with the very former grinning upon sighting them. "There we go! The outer city, if I'm not mistaken. We're here!" the trainer announced, hearing a pair of happy cries from the pokémon behind him. He momentarily wondered why there were only two, but then he remembered the Gardevoir clinging to his arm, whom had remained silent.

"You excited, Ivana?" he asked, looking down at the pokémon and poking her wrist a few times to get her attention. She gasped softly, looking up at her trainer and tilting her head. [… E-Excited…?] she repeated in reply, looking out at their destination for a long while.

"… Helloooooo…?" Eric toned in after she had been spacing for a while, poking the top of her head a couple of times. "Earth to Ivvy?"

"V-Voooir?" she quipped upon being poked, looking up at him with a questioning expression.

"… Oh forget it," the boy sighed, ruffling her green hair a little and chuckling to himself. "I suppose it doesn't matter. We're here, and that's what DOES matter, right? Right."

Ivana said nothing, just as he expected. Just before they reached a nearby "welcome" sign designated as Pastoria City, Eric stopped, turning to the two feral pokémon following behind him. "Alright, you two. I'm putting you both back in your pokéballs," he announced, pulling the appropriate capsules from his belt and aiming them at their owners. Krystal gave a nod of her head and sat back on her haunches, while Tara let out a "Vaaaaaaaporrrrr!" of protest, turning her head away from her trainer.

"Hehehe… Tara, you know the rule," the American champion said in a voice suggesting that he had explained it before. "You're too small for me to keep out of your ball in the city. If you get lost, it'll be that much harder for me to find you again." The young Vaporeon glanced sideways at him, seeming to ponder his words before finally nodding, though she did so with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

"Atta girl…" he praised with a smile, returning both her and her shiny "mother" to their respective balls. Then, replacing them on his belt, he looked down to Ivana, patting her head a couple of times. "You just stay like that. I don't want you getting lost, either," Eric explained to the Gardevoir, though he doubted it was necessary. Given her tendency to stay close and be clingy whenever possible, he didn't think she would do much wandering off.

Aside from that, there was also the fact that she was hiding behind him from seemingly everything.

It wasn't long before the trainer and Pokémon duo reached downtown Pastoria, which turned out to be not that large. It was a swampy city, with weather to match; warm, humid, yet not unpleasantly so. Sure, it was a little sweaty and sticky, but definitely not as bad as it could be in the summer. At least, that's what Eric thought. And a fleeting thought it was.

"Well, let's go and get a good look at what all this city has to offer," the trainer spoke up, looking around him at the relatively large amount of people walking about the city streets. "Could stand to try and find the pokécenter, too, while we're at it."

[… O-Okay, Master…] Ivana spoke distantly, seeming as though she wasn't aware of her own speech. The American champion was tempted to call her on it briefly, but he brushed that notion aside when he saw a poster on a shop window.

"CRASHER WAKE vs. THE GRINDER

PASTORIA ARENA

MATCH STARTS AT 7:00 PM

Tickets start at 50 Poké each!

BE THERE!"

In addition to the… enthusiastic text upon the poster, there was an illustration of two men that appeared to be professional wrestlers. One of them was depicted underneath "CRASHER WAKE", a large man with a blue and white mask, bare chest, and blue and black pants with orange trim.

The other was nothing really interesting, an unmasked man of the same build with only jet black pants. Aside from that, the only possible thing of interest was the face he was making, perhaps a cross between pure rage and constipation. Eric chuckled inwardly at the face, but then gave a sigh.

"… Wrestling? Oh, give me a break," Eric muttered, shaking his head and walking away from the poster while Ivana looked up at him with a confused expression.

[Wh-What is wrong with it, Master…?] she asked, seeming curious now, although that detachment had not… detached itself from her tone.

"Nothing, I guess," came her trainer's reply, looking back down at the Gardevoir with a shrug. "I just don't like it. I think it's stupid and watching it bores me to… no end," he then explained, hesitating at the end of his sentence to revise his original choice of words.

[… The… g-g-gym leader... y-y-y-you find him…. 'boring…?'] the Embrace pokémon quipped in turn, her vocalization catching Eric off guard.

"… Wait, what? The gym leader?" he repeated, turning around and looking back at the now distant poster. "You mean… is it that Crasher Wake guy?" His answer came in the form of a short nod.

"… Greeeaat…" he sighed, turning back around and continuing to walk in the other direction. "Oh well, nothing I can do about that, I guess."

[… Yes…] Ivana muttered absently, closing her eyes and clinging to his arm a little tighter.

Eric stopped walking. "Alright, fine," the boy spoke, pulling his arm out of her grasp and staring at the Gardevoir with crossed arms. "What is it? What's wrong, Ivana?" Eric pried, frowning a little at her. The Psychic type, in return, stared down at the ground for a while, her trainer slowly becoming impatient.

Until finally… [… I-I-I-I-I have… b-b-b-been to this… place b-before…] she finally answered, grasping the dark green scarf wrapped around her neck and hugging it with both arms. [… So long… a-a-a-ago…]

"Y-You have?" Eric said in reply, looking around him and then taking the pokégirl's hand to lead her over to a bench not far from where they stood. He sat down upon it, and Ivana followed closely in suit, scooting closer to her master. "… You've been to Pastoria City before, Ivana?"

[… I-I should not have said anything…] came a shameful reply, to which Eric frowned and crossed his arms once more. [… I… Can we p-p-please leave?]

"… I would say yes… but we came here for a reason," he answered her, shaking his head and standing up in front of the Gardevoir. "Now… I want you to tell me what's wrong, Ivana. I'm not letting you get away with keeping things from me any longer. Tell me."

[… I-I cannot…] the humanoid creature refused, shaking her head slowly.

"Tell me, Ivana."

[… I cannot tell you, M-M-Master…]

"Tell me."

[No, Master…]

"I can do this all day, you know," Eric asserted, stepping closer and frowning down at her.

Perhaps he was being a little too forceful, as she shrank away from his figure, wrapping her strangely shaped green fingers around the scarf she wore. [… P-P-Please stop looking at me like that…] Ivana spoke softly, looking down and to the side of her form.

Eric let out a sigh, sitting down on the bench once more next to her and shaking his head. "… Okay, I'll bite. Why?" he then asked, his voice carrying his contained irritation. "Why is it so bad that you can't tell me?"

[… I… I do not want to upset y-]

"You're doing a terrible job of it, Ivana!" the trainer interjected rather loudly at her, his annoyance beginning to get the better of him. Regardless of that, though, Eric sighed, taking a moment to try to calm down, especially since the Gardevoir was starting to tense up before him in fright. "… Look. If you're… uncomfortable about something… if something doesn't feel right… I need you to TELL me. If you're not going to be honest with me, then won't be able to help you."

Ivana was silent. She stared down at her knees for a long time, appearing to be in deep thought… and then rubbing her eyes a little, letting out a quiet, shaky "voooirrr…"

[… I… I-I-I will tell you later… Master…] she finally came to say, though it was after many agonizing seconds of hesitation on her part.

Eric wanted to just shake his head and try to force the answer out of her, but he restrained himself. '… Fine. You'll tell me later,' he thought, letting out a deep sigh of annoyance and shrugging. "Fine, Ivana. Let's just go."

The Gardevoir gave a slight nod, standing up from the bench and starting to walk down the street as her trainer did the same. This time, though, she did not cling to his arm, as per her norm. She stayed behind him, afraid she might make him angry again if she tried to touch or otherwise interact with him. Her oddly shaped hands drifted to the dark green scarf around her neck, grasping it rather tightly as they walked.

After what must have been forever, the pair arrived at the city's Pokémon Center, walking inside and going straight to the counter. "Hi there. Are there any rooms available for the night?" Eric asked the ever-familiar nurse, who gave him a nod and then put a few bits of paperwork on the counter.

"I'll just need you to fill this out!" Joy replied, smiling warmly as she always did with everyone.

Eric nodded and took the paper, along with a pen, and moved aside as someone ran in holding a badly hurt Bidoof. And after about five minutes, he slid the paper back to the nurse. "Here."

Nurse Joy took the form and looked it over, putting it down on a scanner and watching as her computer displayed the form. "There we are," she stated, handing a key to him and pointing down a hallway. "It's room number 4, just down that hallway."

"Right, thanks!" With that, Eric and Ivana headed down the hallway the woman had pointed out, Eric scanning the different doors as he counted down to four. "Six, five… four! Here we are!" he said to himself, inserting his key into the lock and opening the door.

The room inside was no different from any of the others he had seen: a simple room with two large bunk beds on either wall. There was a window on the opposite wall from the door, with raised aluminum blinds. "There we are…" Eric muttered as he walked inside, sitting down on one of the beds. Ivana took to sitting on the opposite lower bunk, then she laid down on it, on her side, facing away from her trainer.

And it stayed that way for quite a while, with the human sitting on the bed with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his right hand. The Gardevoir remained on the bed, seeming to be asleep, but really wide awake, unable to feel tired anyways. Not anymore.

The silence continued for a good half hour before, finally, Eric let out a sigh and sat up straight on the bed. "So, Ivana, are you ever going to tell me what's got you so uptight?" he finally asked, frowning at the pokégirl on the opposite bunk. "I would prefer it if you did. The sooner, the better."

Much to Eric's expectations, she gave no reply, not making a sound, not batting an eye, barely even moving as she supposedly ignored him. But he tried to remain patient, allowing her some time to respond, if she would bother to do even that much.

Of course, she was silent.

With another sigh, the American trainer stood up, stretching a little before trudging over to the Gardevoir's side and sitting on the bed next to her. "… Look, Ivana… I know you're awake…" he began, placing his hand on her shoulder and nudging it just so she would face him. Sure enough, her big, beautiful crimson eyes were wide open, staring up at him in a way that made him feel somewhat uneasy. Then again, she was probably still a little frightened after his display on the street.

He stared down at her and waited for a reply, watching as she reached for her neck to pull her scarf over the lower part of her face. [… I… I have… been… h-h-h-here before…] she stated plainly, her eyes transfixed upon his visage. [… S-S-S-S-So many times b-b-b-before…]

"… Why, Ivana…?" Eric asked, trying to be gentle this time, rather than forceful. "Tell me why…"

[… Th-Th-This city…] the Embrace pokémon started, but then stopped, closing her eyes and opening them several times, her expression becoming slightly distressed, as if she were really struggling to get those words out of her mouth (or rather, her mind). It took several long, agonizing seconds before she finally spoke again. [… This w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-was… h-h-h-his home… M-M-My… previous… trainer…]

"… M-Miles?" he exclaimed as he heard those words within his mind, his eyes widening as he leaned in a bit closer. "Wh-Wh-Wh-Why wouldn't you tell me?" Eric stammered, staring her in the eyes.

[… I… I did not want to worry you, M-Master…]

"… If you had told me sooner, I wouldn't be!" the trainer exclaimed, then closed his eyes and took a moment to calm himself. "… Look… I want to trust you, Ivana… But I can't do that if you keep secrets from me. If you need to tell me something, say it."

Ivana looked away from him, seeming ashamed of herself. [… I… I-I-I-I am sorry…] she apologized quietly, closing her eyes and turning her head away from him again. [… A-A-A-A-Are you… a-angry… with me…?]

Eric would normally have told her that he wasn't, but he decided it would be better to follow his own words. "… Yeah, a bit," he admitted, though said anger was only barely present in his tone. "… You know why?"

[… Y-Y-Yes… Master… I do…] came her answer, her telepathic tone sounding distorted, but only very slightly. [… I-I-I am s-]

"I know you're sorry. I'm glad you're sorry."

The two were silent for a moment, Eric glancing around the room idly, awkwardly, while his companion stared directly at him, seeming reluctant to do much else. Then she sat up a little, shuffling closer and then wrapping her arms around his torso.

The American trainer, while not surprised by her action, didn't really know how to react, but chose to follow suit, hesitantly returning the embrace, though his hold on her was weaker than hers. "… Are… you okay, Ivvy?" he asked nervously, clearing his throat after speaking.

"…. Gardeeee…. Vooooirr…" she replied in her native speech, closing her eyes and bringing her head in to rest against his chest, directly over his heart. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out why she was doing so.

"… You like the sound of my heart, don't you, Ivvy?" Eric pried on a whim, a light smile curving his mouth slightly.

[I f-f-f-feel… safe….. like th-th-th-this…] the Gardevoir answered almost instantly, her soft telepathic voice sounding much more relaxed than it had a few moments prior. [… I… am not s-sure why…]

The American champion couldn't resist a quiet "awwww…", patting her on the head a couple of times in a light manner. "Well, I won't stop you from doing that…" he spoke, though he gently pushed her head away from his chest and moved his body so that he could sit against the wall while still on the bed. No sooner had he done so than the delicate pokégirl chose to adhere to that same spot once more. And there she stayed.

One of Eric's hands placed itself on her side, his fingers less than an inch from the side of her front horn, while the other just lay on the bunk bed. He didn't really have anything else to say to her, and the way he saw it, she had much the same case. He glanced down at the Psychic type idly, seeing her simply listening to his heart. He smiled a little; even he had to admit it was insanely adorable.

He was distracted so by it that he was startled by a sudden telepathic vocalization from the pokémon in question. [… Master…?]

"Gah!" he yelled in surprise, his body jolting a little in an appropriate manner. "… Y-Yeah…?" Ivana peeled herself away from him slowly, her body language suggesting her quiet reluctance to do so.

[… I… want to ask you… something…]

"Yes? What is it?"

The Embrace pokémon looked down at her knees – obscured by her natural gown – and sighed the first syllable of her name, pausing for a few seconds before speaking to her trainer once more. [… May… I please g-g-g-go and see… his… h-h-h-h-home…?] the pokégirl queried softly, seeming to wince as she finished doing so in a preemptive response to Eric's own.

Once more, Eric was stunned by her odd request, eyes wide and mouth slightly open in accentuation. "You mean Miles' home…? Why?" he asked. "Why would you want to go back there? I thought you were afraid of him!"

Ivana looked up at Eric pleadingly, one of her hands subconsciously bringing itself to her scarf to gently toy with the soft dark green fabric. [… I-I-I am… b-but… I just… wish to see it one more time…]

Eric cupped his chin in his right hand and bowed his head in thought. He could let her go as she asked, but risk losing her… or he could say "no", and likely upset her. It was plain that he was considering his options rather thoroughly, up until he raised his head to speak. "… Okay. You can go… On one condition: I come with you."

If she was surprised by his requirement, she certainly didn't show it. Instead, she simply nodded, closing her eyes and grabbing her trainer's arm gently in both of her hands. Eric, meanwhile, tried to stay still, feeling an odd, yet familiar sensation creeping up his arm quickly, and to the rest of his body within seconds. Then they vanished from the room…

Several seconds went by until the boy and his Gardevoir came back into existence, finding themselves inside a dark room, lit only by faint glow through closed brown curtains. Eric walked over to them, gripping the fabric and drawing it open, then turning around.

Doing so allowed him a view of what was inside the apartment. And in truth, it was not impressive. The white carpet on the floor was very dirty, to the point where he thought it was some sort of black shag carpet at first. The walls, a beige color, were also dirty, and in some spots, there were splatters of red, presumably blood. The entire room smelled disgusting… as if something had been rotting. It smelled of death.

"… Oh shit…" Eric muttered, covering his nose and mouth with his right hand while Ivana did much the same with an invisible psychic barrier, which she gave to her trainer.

[… No… th-this…]

"… It looks like nobody's been here in ages…" the trainer speculated, walking to the kitchen area slowly, carefully watching his step. The kitchen wasn't much better; the floor was covered in some sort of grime that was both disgusting to look at and to step on. The counters and table were empty except for a few empty boxes with bite holes in them and droppings scattered around the "corpses."

"… Eughhh… what the fuck…?" he groaned upon seeing the refrigerator, deciding to turn right around and walk out before anything happened. He didn't even want to think about what might be inside. Upon doing so, however, he saw another door, one that was cracked slightly open, and on the floor, there was a trail of blood leading right through it. Ivana was already walking towards it, her steps slow and nervous, as if a wrong step might trigger some sort of spike trap.

[… M-M-Master… i-i-i-in this room…] the Gardevoir spoke, her tone soft, quiet, shaky with fear.

Eric quickly moved to stand just a few feet in front of her, slowly opening the door. "… What's in here…?" he said to himself as he entered what looked like a bedroom… and immediately turned his eyes away, groaning nauseously.

The bedroom was practically a sea of red, from the carpeted floors, all the way to the walls and even a few splotches on the ceiling. Not only that, but there was broken furniture, a cracked window, torn clothing, bits of fur, and even a few teeth, all scattered around the room.

But what really got their attention were the two sets of skeletal remains resting upon what was left of the bed. Both of them looked like they had been there for quite a while, both having fully been reduced to nothing but bones, spattered here and there with red blotches that looked to be blood. They weren't human remains, however; too small to be human. One appeared to be that of a Mawile, and the other… was all but unidentifiable.

"Holy shit!" he yelled, going right back the way he came and running to the window to open it and try to calm his belly. Meanwhile, Ivana was frozen in place, her orbs transfixed upon the two masses of bone.

"… G-G-G-Gardeeee…" she whimpered, her voice shaking with the horror she was no doubt feeling. The Gardevoir shook her head slowly, her eyes shimmering as tears began to well up within them. "… V-Voooiiir!"

Such a scream, of course, got her trainer's attention, who then rushed into the room after covering his mouth and nose with his left hand. "I-Ivana!" he gasped, stopping right next to her and closing his eyes to avert any rising bile that might come from the ghastly sight of the skeletons lying on the bed.

[… M-M-M-M-M-Mawile… L-L-L-Lupine…] she spoke, her telepathic voice fraught with horror, disgust, sorrow, fear… The pokégirl dropped to her knees next to the bed, the floor beneath her giving a soft crunch as the carpet with dried blood gave under her knees. [… N-No… No no no nooooo…] Soft sobbing could be heard coming from her lips.

Eric's hand fell away from his face as he slowly moved closer, kneeling down and putting his arms around her. "… Ivana… come on… we should- … nghhh… We should leave…" the trainer urged her, his movements to accentuate such a point being gentle, yet still forceful enough to alert her to his intentions. "… I don't think it's good to stay any longer…"

Ivana didn't respond for at least a minute, looking up towards the human boy with tear-saturated crimson eyes. [… P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P-Please… w-w-w-w-w-w-we cannot leave th-th-them in th-this place…] she told him, looking over towards the two corpses on the blood-stained bed. Eric followed her gaze to the piles of bones, and with a sigh, he nodded.

"… Alright… we'll… we'll take them with us… we'll see if we can't bury them tonight…" the American trainer conceded, gesturing tiredly to the white masses. "I'm not carrying them, though. Definitely not."

As he spoke, though, she seemed to be far ahead of him, already bringing the skeletal corpses of her late friends to levitate near her.

"… Right… now… I want to do one more thing…" Eric then spoke, holding up a finger to her as he left the bedroom and walked to the front door. He unlocked it, and then pulled it wide open, thinking that the smell would alert someone eventually to the state of the place. Having done so, he returned to his pokémon and tapped her shoulder. "Okay. Let's get out of here."

With those words, Ivana gave a slow nod, grasping his arm in a manner similar to the way she had done so on their teleportation to Miles' apartment. And a few seconds later, they were gone. And seconds more in passing, they reappeared just outside of the city, surrounded by a veil of thin tries and thick brush.

"… This looks like as good a spot as any…" Eric muttered to himself, looking down at his Gardevoir as she set down the bones gently in the grass. He dug the front of his shoe into the grass and soft, slightly damp dirt, testing its give, nodding a little. "… Now if I only had a shovel…"

Once again, Ivana surprised him. He glanced down at his feet when he saw the ground beneath him starting to glow a faint blue. Eric quickly jumped back onto non-illuminated ground as he heard the sounds of roots snapping and earth moving. Then it rose. A very large chunk of dirt was pulled from the ground and set aside after a long period of slow movement, leaving a nice deep hole.

"… Holy shit…" Eric muttered as the mass of earth was set down in a pile off to the side, looking over towards the two skeletons and then approaching them. He was about to pick one of them up when they too were surrounded by a light blue glow. The boy stepped back, seeing them lifting into the air and slowly being lowered into the hole. Perhaps it would just be better to stay out of the way.

Once they were in the hole, Ivana covered the hole again with the dirt that she had pulled up earlier. And once THAT was finished, she fell to her knees right next to the newly settled dirt patch, panting softly, simply from how much energy she had to exert to accomplish such feats of psychic strength.

A soft sniveling could be heard emanating from the Gardevoir, her hands coming up to cover her face. Eric walked up closer to Ivana and knelt down with her, silently putting a hand on her shoulder. "… Come on… let's go back to the pokémon center…" he said softly, slowly trying to get her on her feet. She complied, but as the two walked back, she didn't cry… for a long time, it seemed like she was about to… but the tears never came.

"… Don't worry, Ivana…" the trainer said out of the blue as they reentered the downtown area of the city. "… I'll get him… I'll get him and I'll make him pay…"

The Psychic type said nothing, just staring down at the ground blankly, her pace heavy, as if she were carrying the entire world on her shoulders. Hell, all she needed was a dark, centralized rain cloud to hover over her head and the effect would be complete! But still, Eric found himself feeling somewhat helpless; his pokémon was right there, and he couldn't think of anything to do about it. And so he just kept walking with her, silent as she was.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Hi. Me again. So, remember to review. Review. Oh, review… Please? I'll give you an invisible internet cookie?


	22. Chapter 21: Wet Work

Disclaimer: I do this for SCIENCE! (Okay, not really.)

So, as promised, here's your invisible internet cookie. As you read this sentence, it is materializing on the computer screen right now. It's just invisible. Go ahead. Eat it. What? You want milk? What am I, a dispenser? I think NOT!

So, here's Chapter 21; in all of its… chapter 21-y glory. Enjoy!

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 21: Wet Work

April 22, 2009; 6:59 PM

From where they reentered the city, the pokémon center was a fair ways away, and thus, required quite a bit of walking to reach it. But eventually, after a good twenty minutes, the two arrived, giving the nurse a quick nod of greeting before heading straight to their room. Eric then proceeded to go into the bathroom to try to cleanse himself of the stench of death and other such foul things.

Meanwhile, Ivana waited in the room outside, lying on the bed while some of the other pokémon (whom he had released from their balls) were situated beside her in an attempt to provide comfort. Krystal curled up near her upper half, tails draped over her, while Tara was balled up against the right side of her head, fast asleep. Meanwhile, Axel was doing his usual "cool" routine of leaning against the wall, and Matthias on one of the top bunks, staring up at the ceiling blankly.

It wasn't long before Eric emerged from the room and just went to his backpack, pulling out what was left of the food he had in his bag. "Axel, don't let me leave Pastoria without buying more supplies," the trainer said, pulling out a near empty container of berries and shaking it lightly to get the Grass type's attention. All Axel gave was a nod. Eric sighed; at least Axel was obedient. A bit of a dick at times, but obedient.

The trainer hopped onto the bunk opposite the girls and opened the container, tossing what was left of the contents to each of the pokémon for their dinner. "Here, guys. Eat up," he said, pulling out a second container with food for him, opening it up and starting to feed himself. If anything, it was a good way to get the faint, but ever nagging taste of death off of his tongue.

It didn't take long to eat it all, and he tossed the container in the garbage can, then took the container of berries once it was empty to put it back in his bag.

"… I'm tired…" Eric told himself aloud as Krystal licked Ivana's cheek once, then padded over to her trainer to rest her sleek black-furred head on his lap, her eyes, in addition, stared right up at him, as if she were begging. The trainer couldn't help but smile a little, using one hand to stroke her soft head while she let out a happy "niiii…" in reply.

A chuckle escaped the human; if there was one thing that his Shiny Ninetales could never resist or get enough of, it was petting. And just laying her head on his legs was her favorite method of getting it.

Then two more came to join the boy and Fire type: first Tara, then Ivana shortly after, for whatever reason. The Water type curled up against his left leg and promptly began snoozing there while Ivana took his right side, wrapping her arms around his right appendage and clinging to it rather tightly. Nothing he wasn't expecting from the girl.

[… M-Master…? Are we… going to fight the man tomorrow…?] Ivana asked out of the blue, bringing the boy's gaze to rest upon the top of her head.

"The man?" he parroted, using one hand to gently lift her chin up, allowing a view of her face. "Who do you mean?"

[… Th-Th-The man… you were complaining about… not long ago…]

Eric chuckled, ruffling her hair while she hid her face in his arm again. "I'd prefer to call it expressing disgust, but if you mean Crasher Wake, then yes." Then he furrowed his brow, looking down at her questioningly. "Why do you ask…?"

[… I… I don't want to fight him…] Ivana replied with a quiet "voir…", rubbing her cheek against his bicep a little.

Eric's eyes widened a little. She didn't want to fight? Why the hell not? Was she scared of him, too? "… Why?"

[….. I… I like him… I d-d-d-d-d-don't want to fight him…]

"… You… like him?" He was halfway between shock and expectation. Part of him couldn't believe his own ears, and part of him saw it coming a mile away. Not that it particularly mattered.

[… F-Friends… with M-Master… long ago…] the pokégirl explained briefly, rubbing her face against his arm more. [… H-He was… always nice t-to me…]

"… But…?"

[… P-Please d-d-d-don't make me fight him…]

The trainer thought about it for a moment, then with a low sigh, he nodded. "Ohhhhh… alright. But you're not weaseling your way out of the next one." That answer was almost immediately followed by a squeeze from his Psychic type, along with… what felt like a lick on his arm.

[Th-Thank you, Master…!] Ivana thanked him, lifting her head to smile slightly at the trainer. It was actually pretty cute, the way she did so so sweetly, then coyly hid her face in his arm again.

With that out of the way, he let out a yawn and shifted so that he could lay back on the bed, moving his pokémon accordingly so that he didn't end up smushing them into the bed. Krystal moved to the foot of the mattress to act as a foot warmer, appropriately, while Tara joined her Fire type mother. And Ivana kept her position, still clinging tightly to her trainer as he relaxed and closed his eyes. It wouldn't be long at all before he would fall asleep.

April 23, 2009; 9:15 AM

Eric slowly opened his eyes to the feeling of something warm on his chest, his eyelids lazily dragging themselves upwards to see – who else – Ivana, laying atop the boy, her head against his chest. Her head moved slightly in her sleep, the occasional soft syllable of her name being uttered as she did… something. It felt like something warm and slightly damp dragging across his shirt.

Oh, her tongue. She was licking his chest. The teenager could feel his face turning red as he stared down at her head, tempted to move her head elsewhere, but not wanting to wake her up at the same time. A few seconds passed and he just conceded to it, laying there quietly as he waited for her to wake up.

The things he did to be a nice guy.

At the very least, it kinda felt good. Sure, she was getting his shirt full of saliva and it was teetering on the edge of tickling, but it wasn't a bad sensation. The trainer let his head rest back on the pillow, his arms coming up to cross behind his head. His eyes drew shut once more, and he began to think.

'So Crasher Wake is this guy's name… sounds like an off brand sports drink or something… Probably a Water type gym. In a swampy place like this, it's either that or Bugs… and he doesn't seem like a Bug type trainer…

'I wonder what he DOES use… Plenty of time today to find out, I suppose… But I'm probably gonna have a bit of a handicap, considering…' Eric glanced down to Ivana briefly, rolling his eyes a little in annoyance. '… Nothing I can really do about it, though… I don't wanna force her into anything if I don't have to… I doubt she'd take that very well…'

[… Y-Y-You're not going to… make me do it, are you…?]

The familiar sound of Ivana's telepathic voice got a loud "Waugh!" out as she effectively scared the shit out of her trainer (not literally, thankfully). The pokémon on his chest and the two around his feet were all forced rudely out of their sleep when the human yelled, the former clinging tightly to him – as in more than before – and the latter two simply lifting their heads to stare questioningly at Eric.

Feeling his cheeks turning red once more, he turned his sights towards the Gardevoir on top of him, giving her an irritated look. "… Really, Ivana? Really?"

[… I… I was just…] the Embrace pokémon started, looking down a little towards the rest of herself before slowly pulling her scarf up over her face. [… I-I-I apologize…]

Eric shook his head and then put a hand on hers. Even he had to admit it was hard to be angry with her; one of the negative parts of cuteness, in his opinion. The male sighed. "It's fine, Ivana… just… stop doing that. I don't like it."

[… Y-Yes Master…] the Psychic type said softly, nodding her head once in acknowledgement. And upon doing so, she slowly got off of the bed to allow Eric to sit up and get up. Both of which he did promptly.

"Alright… everyone, up and at 'em!" he exclaimed almost immediately after, just in case Matthias and Axel had slept through his sudden awakening. They hadn't, considering that they immediately got down from the top bunks upon hearing the trainer's voice.

They all stared at him in a rather familiar manner, and Eric definitely felt it whilst he started pulling out a change of clothes. "… Come on, guys, you know that I'm out of your food. We're going out for breakfast," the human dismissed, sighing a little as he grabbed his collar and pulled his shirt off. "… Right after I change. Be right back."

The trainer then headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, leaving the pokémon alone once more.

Ivana was left staring at the door through which he left, her gaze firmly locked on the closed wooden barrier. Meanwhile, Matthias watched her from the other side of the room as well, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and one footpaw propped up against said wall in a manner not unlike Axel's usual stance.

It wasn't long, though, before the trainer reemerged from the bathroom in a pair of light brown cargo pants and a white t-shirt. "… Right," he muttered to himself with a sigh, stuffing his dirty clothing into his backpack before shouldering the bag. "Alright! Let's go!"

The pokémon in the room with him all let out a yell of affirmation, falling into a messy line behind Eric while he left the room, with Tara being the last to leave. And from there, they stepped out of the pokémon center, heading towards the gym in a veritable mob with Eric in the middle, Ivana clinging to his arm (surprise), Matthias lagging at the back, Axel in front, and Tara and Krystal side by side nearby.

"… Ivana's not fighting this time, guys," Eric spoke after a few moments, eliciting confused noises and questioning stares from all but the one in question. "She says she… doesn't want to fight…" he then continued, pausing briefly in wondering about lying. "Think you can handle him yourselves?"

Confident species cries came as their answers, save for Axel. Speaking of whom, Eric turned his attentions towards the Forest pokémon with a raise of his eyebrow. "If this guy's a Water type trainer like I think he is, you're not going in right away. I'm saving you until I need you." Axel didn't respond, as per usual. If he did, Eric didn't catch it.

In any case, though, they eventually arrived at the gym, walking inside and gazing around. Definitely a Water gym; the walls were painted blue and white with various Water type pokémon images on said walls. In addition, the hallway that led to the arena was lit, and at the end, the American champion could see the pool.

"Ah! A challenger!" a deep voice rang out from… behind them, with Eric spinning around, then jumping back.

"Holy shit!" came his yell, breathing a little harder from the startling appearance of the… wrestler. "… Oh… you're Crasher Wake, huh?" Collecting himself, he noticed that his arm felt noticeably lighter. And not as warm. Perhaps he was getting used to the veritable sleeve that Ivana had made herself to be.

But she was standing there, about 12 inches from the gym leader, staring up at him in… something. The teenager couldn't tell. Wake glanced down at the Gardevoir, noticing her stare and returning it with a tad of curiosity. But then Ivana averted her gaze, looking down at the floor.

Wake started laughing, putting his hand out to ruffle her green hair. "HAHAHAHAHA! You're Miles' Gardevoir! I remember you!" he announced, grinning at the little Psychic type. But then he turned his attention to her trainer, his expression a little more serious now. "But… why are you traveling with this boy?"

It took a brief moment of confusion before he realized that Ivana was speaking to him by telepathy. It made sense with a little thought; she DID consider him to be her friend, so it would be expected for her to have formed that bond. The most he could do was look on in silent interest, wishing he could hear the conversation they were having, but only being able to hear the wrestler's bits of dialogue.

In the end, though, Wake turned to Eric, crossing his arms and grinning behind his mask. "I accept your challenge, Eric! Let's go!" he announced loudly, laughing a little as he strode off towards the water based arena.

The American trainer blinked a few times, muttering a brief "What just happened?" before turning to his other pokémon. They looked about as bewildered as he was. "… Come on. Let's go," he eventually said, though, glancing shortly to Ivana. "You too." The Gardevoir nodded and followed closely behind as the trainer started walking; though for once, she wasn't latching onto his arm… she seemed much more relaxed there.

In any case, it wasn't long before they emerged into a dimly lit arena, with a huge pool dominating most of the room, the rest either being occupied by stands for spectators or the benches for trainer companions to take up.

The pool itself was… massive, to say the least. Eric didn't even want to think about how much water it took to fill the damn thing. In addition, there were floating platforms of various size and shape dotting the surface, meant to give non-Water types somewhere to stand. A raised platform with a ladder on the back stood at each end of the pool, meant for trainers to stand on. And lastly, an odd kind of glass surrounded the pool; it seemed rather dumb to use glass, but apparently, these kinds of barriers could stand up to an enraged Tyranitar's Hyper Beam.

"Eric!" Wake called from the other side of the pool, standing on his side's platform. "I say we have a double battle! No substitutes!" Shortly after saying this, he broke out laughing. "I haven't had one of those in ages!"

Eric gave a simple nod, glancing back to his pokémon, then returning them to their respective balls (save for Ivana). And once he had, he climbed the ladder to the platform, giving his reply. "Fine by me! I'm ready!" the teen called, noticing the flash behind him as Ivana teleported onto the platform with him, then sat quietly to watch.

"Great!" the wrestler yelled back, reaching behind him to produce a pair of Dive Balls. "Choose your pokémon, and yell when you're ready, Eric!"

He couldn't fault the guy for enthusiasm; that much was clear. But the teenager quickly cleared his mind of such thoughts as he replaced them with an internal debate over who to choose. Axel was the obvious choice, given his type. He would have sent in Ivana, too, since she knew Thunderbolt, but she didn't want to participate, so she was out of the question…

His hand went back to grab Axel's ball… and then after a few moments more of thought… he grinned. "… Perfect." Another pokéball then occupied his free hand, enlarging both as he heard Wake's voice again.

"On three! One! Two! Three!"

Both trainers threw out their choices, all four spheres bursting open at the same time. On the gym leader's side, there appeared a Quagsire and a Floatzel, both looking ecstatic to be in battle. As for Eric, Axel appeared on one of the platforms, crossing his arms and staring down his opponents. But as for his second choice… "Niiiine!"

Crasher seemed intrigued. It wasn't often that trainers used pokémon that his own could easily stamp out. But Eric had his plan…

"Challenger Eric, you may do the honors!"

"With pleasure!" Eric replied, pointing to the Floatzel and yelling. "Axel! Use Leaf Blade! Krystal, Dark Pulse!"

Both pokémon obeyed, with the former leaping from platform to platform with incredible speed, while Krystal remained rooted to hers, preparing her move.

"Underwater, you two!" Just before Axel's Leaf Blade would have hit, Floatzel jumped back, sinking quickly into the pool to roam underneath with its partner. Eric knew this would happen… and Axel seemed to do the very same, taking the initiative and jumping off of that platform towards the glass, running along it for a few short steps before leaping back to where he started.

The champion cursed under his breath. He really hated water-based arenas; he could never see what was going on underneath, and more often than not, there was water because there were Water types… who loved to swim out of his view. A handicap he truly despised.

"… Alright, Krystal! Overheat in a full circle!" he yelled, pointing at the Ninetales and watching the sleek black-furred Fire type charging her attack. "Axel, beat down the others with a Leaf Blade if they show themselves!"

"Floatzel! Agility, then Aqua Jet!" The Sea Weasel pokémon obeyed Crasher's order, leaping out of the water with incredible speed, and then darting straight towards Krystal, its orange and white body becoming engulfed in a cone of water.

Axel had time to turn his head, but not enough time to try to beat back the attack from the Floatzel. Agility, combined with the added speed from Aqua Jet, proved to be too much for even his reflexes to cope with. And much the same went for Krystal… especially as she took that hit. "Niiiiine!" she yelped, being knocked back onto an entirely different platform behind her.

"Axel, quick, X-Scissor!" Eric ordered, trying to take advantage of the now airborne Floatzel. "And Krystal, Flamethrower, now!" At the same time, both of them did what they were told, though Krystal's fire attack was somewhat delayed by her recovery from the blow. She wasn't looking that bad, but considering the force, plus the type disadvantage… Eric would have to watch it. And so would she.

In any case, Axel sprung upwards towards the now falling Floatzel, managing to catch it with its X-Scissor before it would have escaped into the water. It yelped out in pain, being knocked against a larger platform with a "Zeeeeel!" before sinking into the water.

Meanwhile, a light began flaring up in Eric's peripheral vision as Krystal began to spray the water with the fire attack. At first, nothing… but it wasn't until he glanced over at Wake that he knew it was working. She was creating a steam cloud.

"Quagsire, Blizzard! Floatzel, use Rain Dance!" Wake suddenly called out, making Eric's eyes go wide. This… wasn't gonna be good. For a while, though, nothing happened… but then, a localized rain cloud formed over the arena, starting to pour rain onto the pool and utterly drench the place.

And then Quagsire showed up. It leaped out of the water, arched its back with a loud "Quaaaaaaaag!", and then launched icicles at both of his pokémon.

"Axel! In the water! Krystal, Flamethrower!" He could practically hear the angry grumbles elicited from the Grass type as Axel slipped into the water, narrowly avoiding the Ice attack. The Flamethrower also succeeded, bringing the Blizzard to a halt, and then powering right through to leave a weak blow on Quagsire's body. It wasn't much, of course, but he wasn't complaining about free damage.

Axel surfaced a few seconds later, scrambling onto the platform and taking a careful stance on it. The rain was making it slightly difficult to keep a secure footing, but Axel made do.

"Don't let up! Mud Bomb! Aqua Tail!" Crasher ordered, grinning deviously as he did so. Eric grit his teeth. Who was he going for? … Mud Bomb? Aqua Tail?

"… Shit. Krystal! Get to Axel's platform! MOVE IT!" the American trainer yelled, startling Ivana as he did so. Krystal immediately gave a loud bark of her species name as she jumped from platform to platform, trying to join Axel on the foothold he held.

Behind her though, Quagsire surfaced and took up a spot on a platform that she had recently occupied, spitting a large orb of mud at her. At the same time, Floatzel lunged at her from the side, tail pulsating with water that flailed about as its twin tails spun.

"Axel, quick! Leaf Blade! Deflect that Mud Bomb!" The Sceptile was off like a shot, stomping the platform to make it tilt towards his ally, then springing towards the incoming Ground type attack. A grin appeared on his face. He knew what his master wanted.

The Grass type shot past the Floatzel, leaving him with a second-long face-full of tail leaves. His arm leaves glowed as he flew towards the Quagsire's projectile… and in one swift move, he sliced up the middle of the Mud Bomb, split it in two, and then knocked a piece of it towards each opponent.

"Whoa! What was that?" Wake exclaimed excitedly, grinning widely, even as his two pokémon took half a Mud Bomb to the face.

"Axel, Leaf Blade on Quagsire! Krystal, Dark Pulse on Floatzel! Don't let them recover!" the American champion ordered quickly, trying to get some damage done while they were still hit.

Axel bounded over platforms as his arm leaves glowed green and became nice and sharp, headed towards his target, whom was already back on his feet from the hit. Krystal, meanwhile, unleashed a beam of black and purple orbs aimed directly at the Floatzel.

"Dodge it! Hurry!" Too late… for one of them, at least. Floatzel was able to quickly get back his focus and dodged the Dark Pulse by diving into the water, where Krystal tried to follow him with her Dark type attack.

Quagsire, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. Or more accurately, he wasn't so fast. Eric's Sceptile was on him before he even registered that he was about to get downed, and he was indeed downed. In the "take a blow to the face and get knocked back-first into a wall" kind of way. "Quagsire!"

"Don't let up!" Eric yelled, disregarding the fact that Wake was returning Quagsire to his ball. The fact that Axel had just KOed one of Wake's pokémon had him in a sort of sub-mindset that wanted him to do one thing and one thing only: stay on the offensive. "Axel, get to Krystal's platform!" Axel obeyed. "Krystal, make a steam cloud!"

Krystal quickly switched 'modes' and dropped the Dark Pulse, getting herself into charging the Overheat while her partner dashed towards her.

"Aqua Jet!" Wake yelled out suddenly, making the Floatzel shoot out of the water not even a second later, engulfed in that same veil of water as he got a bit of altitude, then dove for Krystal!

… Eric grinned. "Thanks, Wake! Axel, Frenzy Plant on Krystal!" Krystal cringed a little as she heard this, knowing what her trainer was up to… but not hating it any less. Axel on the other hand… he grinned even more than his trainer. Wake? He was dumbfounded. Why attack your own pokémon? Was this some… sadistic way of giving up? Even Ivana seemed taken aback, and also inclined to try to nudge his inclinations in another direction. Only to be met with a stern glare and a shake of his head.

Floatzel sped towards the shiny Ninetales while Axel started creating roots beneath her. Floatzel grinned, Krystal braced herself, and Axel smirked triumphantly.

"… Krystal! Jump towards me!" She obeyed without question, leaping backwards onto another platform just as a tree sprung up from her previous perch… and instead hit their remaining foe square on.

"Floooooooooooaaaat!" it yelled out in pain as it was sent flying, actually impacting on the rafters.

"Floatzel, return!" Crasher then called, seeming rather… excited? Even as he aimed a pokéball at his fallen pokémon and drew it back into the capsule, his expression was that of exhilaration. "Eric, you won! That was one of the best battles I've had in days! Hahahah!"

Axel and Krystal panted softly, looking back to their trainer with looks of annoyance and gratitude, respectively. "You guys did it! Nice work!" he praised, glancing at the Fire type with a more apologetic expression. "Sorry about that, Krystal."

She sat on her haunches, licking her paw and letting out a soft whimper. Axel just jumped up onto Eric's platform, staring at him like a kid whose parents had just taken away his favorite toy. Such was met with a similarly themed, but just as opposite look from the trainer. And then was followed up by the trainer pulling out their pokéballs and returning to their respective capsules.

He then got down from the platform upon noticing that Wake seemed to have done the same, Ivana teleporting down to be next to him as he walked around the side of the pool. And there he met Wake in the middle. In his hand, he gripped something small and metallic. "I think you've earned this, Eric. I'd give you two for that battle! Hahahahaha!"

"You think so?"

"Kid…!" he yelled out, grabbing Eric and drilling his knuckles against the teen's head. "I'd give ya THREE!"

"Let go! Let go! Owowowowow!" Eric yelled, flailing about in the wrestler's grip, only to be rescued a second later by Ivana's telekinesis. "… Can I have my badge now?" he muttered then, rubbing his head and giving the Gardevoir a thankful nod and smile.

"Of course! Take it! The Fen Badge is yours, Eric!" Crasher Wake laughed, flipping the small badge and then holding it in his open palm for the trainer to take, which took less than a second for him to do.

"Awesome… and on that note!" Eric said after taking the badge, spinning on his heel and turning towards the way he came. "We're gone! See ya!"

"Come back for another battle sometime!"

Eric nodded politely as he walked away, with the familiar feeling of a pair of small arms wrapped around one of his. As soon as he was out of earshot, though… "… Not on your life, buddy. Not on your life."

[… Th-Thank you, Master…] Ivana then piped up, looking up at her trainer from her "perch" at his side.

"No problem, Ivvy… now let's head to the pokémart. We gotta get some supplies."

[Yes, Master.] And with that exchange of words, the two left the gym, Eric giving a light sigh as he started looking for the pokémart, Ivana clinging tightly to his right arm.

-But they didn't know that they were being watched…-

"… The human is becoming a problem. I want him gone."

"Relax, relax. I know he's an issue."

"You do not seem to grasp the gravity of this task, boy. You WILL deal with him. I care not how it is done."

"So I CAN kill him."

"I said I do not care, boy… Now go. Get it done."

"Hehehe… this'll be fun."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: So, there ya have it. Please, do leave a review and I'll love you forever… What, you thought that just because I begged LAST chapter means I don't want reviews in this one? HAHAHAHA! Ahhh…. You're funny.


	23. Chapter 22: Nemesis

Disclaimer: Yes.

It's funny how fast time can go by, isn't it? It seems like it was only yest- No, bad Etriax! No reminiscing! *punches self in stomach* … Okay, I'm done.

It's time for everything to get darker and grittier! So, on with chapter 22! Enjoy!

Normal Speech/ Pokéspeech = " "

Thoughts = ' '

Telepathy = [ ]

Aura Speech = { }

Sound Effects = * *

Scene Breaks = - (Transition Text Here)-

End Chapter = /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 22: Nemesis

April 23, 2009; 11:24 AM

Eric sat on a sofa in the lobby of Pastoria City's pokémon center, his backpack against his legs while he packed his newly purchased items inside. Ivana sat beside him, her eyes closed, green hands on her gown-covered legs, head resting against the sofa, since her trainer was moving too much to be used as a pillow. Matthias sat on the floor near Eric's legs with his own crossed, and Tara was curled up nearby, fast asleep. Axel and Krystal, on the other hand, were in the care of the nurse, being healed after their battle with Crasher Wake not long ago.

'… Urghhh… they say this process goes fast, but it isn't fast enough…' he complained silently, letting out a not-so-silent groan as he did so. '… Come on… come on…' At least he still had a bit of busy work to keep himself… well, busy. Namely, the packing of his supplies into his bag.

He did finish, though. Rather quickly, in fact, and much to his dismay and annoyance. And in direct contrast, the familiar sound of a healing machine finishing its work cheered him up immediately. Eric got up swiftly, walking over to the counter and giving the token smile as he took Axel's and Krystal's pokéballs back into his possession.

The trainer spun on his heel and chuckled lightly when he saw Ivana standing right in front of him, barely two feet away, head down, hands playing with her scarf's tassels. "Hehehe… eager to go?" he said, ruffling her hair a little as he walked past her, hearing her soft footsteps following him close behind. The other pokémon left their places in the lobby in the meantime, meeting Eric at the doors and then following him outside.

"Alright…" he muttered, pulling out his pokédex to start looking at the map, trying to decide/remember what his next destination was. "… Hmmmm… I could… go to Veilstone City… stop in Solaceon City afterwards… Oh… Wait…"

Another city showed up in the corner of his screen, and the curious trainer scrolled over to said city. "… Sunyshore City…" he muttered, looking over the easterly city with a thoughtful expression. "… Maybe… I ought to save myself a trip…" Eventually he nodded. "Sunyshore it is!"

With those words, he set the pokédex to lock on that location, a compass popping up in the top right corner to point towards it. So he spun on his heel, closed the dex and pocketed it, and started walking. "Come on, everyone. This way!"

The pokémon all did so with cries of various volumes, the most silent of them finding her way to her master's side to remain there, not to mention looping her arm around his to cling to it. And from there, they started walking east towards the city limits. While they did, Eric was mostly occupied in taking in the surroundings, people around him mostly allowing him to go by unnoticed. And it stayed that way, all the way out of the city and onto the road.

The weather was unremarkable, being cloudy, but not cold or particularly windy. And moreso, the route that the group walked at that point was rather… bare. Boring, even. There weren't any trainers, Eric couldn't hear the cries of any pokémon from nearby, and even the vegetation seemed lifeless! What he could hear, though, was the distant sound of waves. They were close to some body of water, it seemed.

But something seemed off about this place…something that made Eric reach for his pokéball belt and remove a few of the capsules from said belt. "Hey… Tara, Axel, Krystal… back in your balls…" he muttered, turning towards the three he mentioned with a look of worry on his face.

The three pokémon stared at him questioningly, picking up on his worry, but not resisting or objecting. Eric aimed their capsules at them and drew them back into their respective pokéballs – Axel and Krystal first, then Tara – and replacing them on his belt before glancing at the two that remained with him. "… Matthias… Ivana… do you feel that…?" the trainer asked in a low tone of voice, looking around him nervously, trying to concentrate a little on getting his Aura primed.

[… Feel what, Master…?]

{I do not understand.}

"You two don't feel that… pressure…?" he then continued, starting to continue down the route, albeit at a slower pace. "It feels like… I shouldn't be here…"

{….. I feel Aura.} Matthias piped up a few seconds later, his paws starting to glow with his Aura as he spoke. {… It is not mine… nor is it yours, Master…}

"… Where is it?"

[M-Master, what are you talking about?] Ivana interjected, seeming rather worried now, though understandably so.

"… Call me crazy, but I think we better get moving… Ivana, Matthias, let's pick up the pace a bit…" Eric replied, looking down at the Gardevoir with a somewhat troubled expression. "The sooner we get the hell out of here, the better."

[But why, M-M-Master?]

"I'll explain later!"

And with that, he started to move just a liiiiittle bit faster, looking behind him every few seconds, breathing a little harder… If there were a time for adrenaline to be flowing, this would be it.

The next several minutes were dead quiet, the silence being broken only by the footsteps of Eric and the two pokémon as they moved down the road. In fact, it wasn't until they reached a fork in the road that they actually heard the sound of a pokémon's cry.

The trainer instantly stopped in his tracks, listening to said cry… it wasn't a good cry… in fact, it was so very distorted that he couldn't even make out what kind of pokémon it was. But he didn't have a whole lot of time to think about this…

"There you are, you stupid bitch."

Eric jumped a little and spun on his heel, staring at the source of the voice. At the same time, a scream of terror erupted from Ivana as she quickly moved to hide behind her trainer.

The one that stood before them was about 6 feet tall, and had short, messy brown hair. He was wearing a black trench coat, a brown cowboy hat, and brown combat boots. And he looked familiar.

"… You again!" the champion yelled, taking a step back and gritting his teeth. Matthias seemed to understand just who they were looking at, and adopted a fighting stance. "What do you want now?"

The man didn't seem interested in Eric or Matthias, however, as he walked towards the trainer, chuckling in a very creepy manner. "I'm surprised you're still alive, Gardevoir. It's a shame, though. I would've liked to have your corpse as a trophy."

Eric held his right arm out to the side, trying to bar him from the cowering (and shaking) Psychic type. "… Leave Ivana be. She's done nothing to you," he said in the calmest voice he could muster, having to pause for a few seconds before doing so. In the meantime, he was also attempting to focus his power on summoning his sword… he had a feeling he would need it.

"Hehehe… you're funny kiddo. But let me clue you in on something: she's MY pokémon. Not yours," came the reply, slipping his hands into his trench coat pockets. "Now hand over her pokéball. Hand it over and I might just let you live."

Eric stood there silently, ignoring the not-so-silent telepathic urges from Ivana to not do so. He had no plans to give up his pokémon… especially not to Miles. But he had to stall for time… "… Wait a minute… how do I know you won't kill me anyways?" he asked, still trying to focus, trying to get that ball of light and dark to appear in his palm.

Miles stared at the boy for a few seconds before laughing loudly, shaking his head as he stopped. "You don't. I might just eviscerate you right now. I might take the bitch behind you, then leave you be." The man leaned forward a bit and his expression grew more sinister. "Hell, I might even kill you both! But one way or another, she's coming with me."

All while Miles spoke, Ivana trembled, whimpered, and even wept a little. Obviously scared of the one that she used to call Master, though understandably so. But this was different… when she was still under his command (after his shift), she had only herself and her late friends/teammates to worry about… but now she had Eric. And Miles definitely sounded bent on killing him.

Matthias, on the other hand, was more collected than the Gardevoir, and was already preparing for the worst. His paws burned with a blue and purple Aura fire, and his crimson eyes glow a slight blue as well. But this was just on the outside…

Inwards, he was constantly scanning the dangerous individual, trying to predict what how he would attack first, provided he did attack at all. But what really worried him was the Aura that surrounded the man in the trench coat. It was an immensely powerful Aura, too… but it was a dark Aura… evil, even.

The American trainer was silent, still trying to concentrate, still watching Miles carefully, still trying to think of what he could do…

"I'm waiting, Lombardi," Miles urged, crossing his arms and tapping his left foot impatiently.

Eric opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn't speak… Part of it was due to the precariousness of the situation… but another part was the white and green figure that slowly pulled itself from his back and moved in front of him. Ivana stood in front of her trainer, her back horn brushing Eric's shirt as she held her green arms out at length from her body. "… V-Voir…"

"I-I-Ivana? What are you doing?" the trainer slowly spoke, though he couldn't really hear himself over the erupting laughter from the other man.

"Well, isn't this just adorable?" Miles sneered, putting his left arm in his pocket while his right went up to adjust his hat. "The weakling is trying to be a hero…" he paused for more laughter.

"G-G-G-Garde…! Gaa! Vooooir!" she fumed, her entire body starting to radiate that blue glow of focused psychic energy. Eric couldn't understand her, and Matthias seemed too occupied to play translator.

"And you think you can stop me?" Apparently the trench coat-clad man could understand her… or at least figure things out for himself, dialogue or no. "I'd like to…" he then started, but then suddenly vanished, leaving a few small clouds of black behind where he once stood.

And then he was behind the pair, jamming his palm against Eric's back to send him flying, taking Ivana with him as well.

"GAAHHH!"

"GARDEEEEE!"

The trainer ended up landing and rolling a few times on impact before coming to rest on his back, acting as a sort of cushion for Ivana. She landed on top of him, then bounced once to land on her butt with a loud grunt.

Tearing his slightly dizzy gaze from the sky allowed him to glance in Miles' direction, and upon doing so, he saw the human and Matthias fighting it out. Matthias was actually holding his own pretty damn well, considering the disadvantage he held. But as an Aura sensitive pokémon, it wasn't terribly surprising.

He was tempted to call out to Matthias, but he knew better. To break the Aura pokémon's concentration would likely be a very, VERY bad idea. So he went to concentrating on his own power. '… Come on… come on…' he thought, closing his eyes and trying to calm his breathing…

And success! The familiar orb appeared in his palm, swirling light and dark, slowly taking the form of his sword.

Behind him, in the meantime, the Gardevoir pulled herself up to stare dazedly at the scene before her. And almost instantly, her expression became one of shock and a slight bit of fear. What was her master doing? What was that orb? Why was it changing shape? What the hell was going on? But she said nothing, did nothing. She didn't want to make herself known now…

Finally, the light had faded from Eric's hand to be replaced with that mirror-reflective sword of his. And as soon as he held it, he reached for Matthias' pokéball, aiming it at the Lucario and drawing him back inside the ball.

And good thing, too, since Matthias was on his back, having just been hit in the face by a well thrown punch. And another punch followed very shortly after he vanished, impacting on the ground and actually causing the ground to shake a little.

"… Really, Lombardi?" Miles spoke, slowly standing up and then turning his attention towards the trainer, who had just put the pokéball back on his belt. "You're gonna keep me from finishing a f-"

"Shut up!" the American trainer yelled to interrupt him, taking a step back and gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands.

"… Is that the best you can come up with?" the trench coat-clad man spoke up, turning towards Eric fully and starting to slowly walk towards him. "Come on, kid. If you're gonna say something, 'shut up' isn't gonna cut it."

Eric grit his teeth and fixed his stance.

"Now… if you give me her pokéball and walk away, I'll let you do just that," he offered, fixing his hat before crossing his arms again. "If you disobey… well, you won't be alive much longer… And neither will she."

Ivana visibly recoiled from where she lay, though it only motivated her to get up on her feet.

"… Let me ask you this, Miles," Eric said, hoping to stall a little… and maybe make a decision, if it came down to it. "Why do you want her back? If you threw her away, beat the living shit out of her, killed her friends, and left her to die in the Eterna Forest… Then why the hell would you want her back?" he then continued, his voice gaining a slight amount of volume with every item he uttered.

While her trainer spoke, Ivana quickly moved to be right behind Eric, peeking out from behind his left arm, shaking a little, gripping her scarf gently with her own left arm.

"Let me ask YOU, kiddo. Why do you care? Why do you care about that worthless piece of meat that's cowering behind you as we speak?" Miles retorted, shaking his head and sighing with just the slightest undertone of amusement. "Do yourself a favor kid. Give her here."

… Eric couldn't believe what he was hearing. This guy… he wanted to kill him. He wanted to cut of his head and proceed to slice it up into as many pieces as possible. "… You're not taking Ivana. I won't let you."

"… Fine then. I guess I WILL be following orders after all," he laughed as he reached up, removing his hat and dropping it. Not even a single second had passed before… he was gone, leaving only a few streaks of dark… stuff…behind.

"Ivana, stay close to ME!" Eric yelled, though he was made to raise his voice upon feeling something yanking a certain pokéball from his belt. Oddly enough, though, the ball just wrenched itself from his hip, with nothing visible holding it.

The Gardevoir was all too happy to oblige, letting go of Eric and trying to predict her former trainer's movements. And Eric gripped his sword tightly, gritting his teeth and muttering under his breath. "Come on, Cresselia… if there were ever a time to start helping, this would be it…"

Out of the right corner of his eye, he saw something moving. Or rather, something in the air fluctuating. Miles, he thought. It turned out he was right, as the brown-clad man lunged at him from that side. Thinking quickly, the trainer spun on his heel quickly as he could, holding his sword in just such a way that it would (hopefully) shield him.

Or at least he would have, provided that Miles hadn't struck first. And strike he did, delivering a hard kick to the teen's side to send him sprawling. Eric cried out in pain, holding his side, even as he skidded to a halt, then swiftly got to his feet. At almost the same time, Ivana teleported… somewhere…

And Miles "teleported" right behind Eric to deliver another blow: a hard upwards knee to his back.

The champion let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain as he was knocked skyward, gritting his teeth and trying to NOT pass out or vomit or lose his focus (and his sword). Doing so would mean certain death. Then he started falling.

He shut his eyes. "… Come on… Cresselia! Help! Now!" he screamed out, opening his eyes to behold the rapidly approaching ground. He braced for the likely-to-be-fatal impact…

There was a loud, dull thud of a body hitting the ground. Eric laid there, facedown… But then he groaned. "… Rrrrrghhh… Oooowwwwww…" he uttered, bringing an arm to his stomach as he tried to suppress the insane amount of pain that replaced death. He slowly, partially opened his eyes to a very much blurred scene before him.

That scene contained the sight of someone walking, along with a certain Gardevoir being dragged by her leg along with him. She was unconscious.

Eric was not.

"… Let… go of her…" he managed to groan, despite the incredible pain he was feeling all over.

"Hm?" Miles then let out, turning towards Eric with a lopsided grin. "Oh yeah, almost forgot. Here, I believe you deserve this." Miles took a step back, dropped Ivana's leg, and then proceeded to deliver a HARD kick to Eric's forehead.

A sickening crunch was heard as the boy was made to slide a few feet away from the man, his nose bleeding quite a bit, but unbroken. His eyes were closed, and the blow got only a weak groan out of him before he lost his grip on consciousness…

-Some time later…-

The sun was out and shining brightly, with the occasional cloud drifting by to block out its rays. And on the route to Sunyshore City, everything was as it should be. Pokémon made their various cries as they went about their various tasks, wind blew, the occasional trainer made their trips to wherever they needed to go.

The only real anomaly was the jeep that was being driven down said route, heading west: a simple four-seater, open top, with only one person inside, driving. The driver was a woman: tall, with light skin, calm but piercing eyes, and long blonde hair that blew mesmerizingly behind her in the wind. She was clad in a long black dress, along with short black heels, black pants, and four odd teardrop-like black hair ornaments, two on each side of her head.

She stared straight ahead as she drove down the path, not really paying much attention to what was around her… until she saw what appeared to be a person in the road. Said person was lying face down in the road, his body dirty and well battered.

"… What in Arceus' name…?" the woman muttered, slowing down and then pulling over to investigate. On doing so, she got out of the car and walked towards the boy. On closer inspection, he appeared to be about fifteen years old, with brown hair, and a slim frame. He wore a pair of brown cargo pants and a bloodstained white t-shirt.

The woman touched her fingers to his neck, then nodded, turning him onto his back to get a better look at him. He was alive, but definitely unconscious, obviously. Judging by the way he was hurt, though, it wasn't too much of a stretch to say that he had taken one hell of a beating.

She reached for her belt, pulling out and enlarging a ball before tossing it. Doing do released its occupant: a Garchomp. "Help me put him in the car, Garchomp." She said in a somewhat flat tone, getting into the jeep's driver seat while the Mach pokémon did as instructed, and then was returned to its pokéball.

With the injured trainer safely in the back seat of the car, the engine was started. The stranger wasted no time in making a hard u-turn and speeding back towards Sunyshore City.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Oh no! Eric got curbstomped! Ivana got kidnapped! And some random woman came up and stole Eric as well! What will come from all of this? Find out in the next chapter!

Oh, and be epic. Review!


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